Wolf's Lair: A portrait of Hitler's secretary

Wolf's Lair: A portrait of Hitler's secretary

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Germany, 1942. Traudl Junge was a young woman with dreams of becoming a ballerina. Instead, at 22 years old she became Adolf Hitler's personal secretary.

The acclaimed Almost A Bird Theatre Collective (Antigone, Angels in America, A Streetcar Named Desire, Jeff Koons) performs the return season of their celebrated devised work Wolf’s Lair at Circa Two in Wellington, Fri 27 Nov – Sat 12 Dec, Tue-Sat 7.30pm & Sun 4.30pm (no show on Mon).

Wolf's Lair is a 45-minute fractured portrait and monologue, about the "unspectacular life" of a very ordinary woman who found herself in 1942 at the age of 22 working in Wolfsschanze (Wolf's Lair), Hitler's headquarters. Performed by Sophie Roberts, directed by Willem Wassenaar.

Traudl Junge served Hitler for two and a half years, until the final days of World War II when Nazi Germany fell.

She was one of the few survivors to emerge from the Berlin Bunker where Hitler and many members of his inner circle ended their own lives. For many years Junge claimed she had been blind to the genocidal activities being carried out around her, it was not until the late 1960s that she began to confront her past.

Over the next 35 years that confrontation became an increasingly painful process; an exhausting attempt to understand herself and her motivations as a young woman. She died in February 2002, shortly after the publication of her memoir.

Wolf’s Lair is an examination of the ghosts of one woman's conscience; a woman who served a mass murderer and yet does not fit into the polarized territory of the hero's and the villains.

This play, rather than re-enacting her autobiography, shines a light on the pain and confusion she suffered - not at the time of the Nazi genocide, but when as an adult she finally started questioning and accepting her role in what happened around her.

“Beautifully performed ... A fascinating glimpse into an ordinary woman trapped in the very centre of the maelstrom of evil that was Nazi Germany.” (Dominion Post)

“Dynamic ... compelling. A consummate performance” (Theatreview)

"Beautiful, thought-provoking theatre ... Amazing ... Flawless" (Theatreview)

"Impressive" (NZ Herald)

"Dazzling ... totally and brutally honest ... A taste of the true New Zealand talent lingering on everyone's lips" (Coup De Main.Com)

Almost A Bird Theatre Collective presents
Wolf’s Lair

Circa Two Fri 27 Nov – Sat 12 Dec, Tue-Sat 7.30pm & Sun 4.30pm
Book @ Circa 04 801 7992 / www.circa.co.nz, Adult $25/Concession $20

ENDS

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