Performed by Franca Nuti, the new play by Christopher Hampton is based on the life and accounts of Brunhilde Pomsel, who was secretary to Goebbels from 1942 to 1945, experiencing the rise and fall of Nazism from within.
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Teatro Grassi
Two-time Oscar Winner (Les Liaisons Dangereuses and The Father), in 2019 Christopher Hampton wrote a play based on the accounts of Brunhilde Pomsel, who worked for the Third Reich from 1933 and was the personal secretary of Joseph Goebbels from 1942 to 1945, left to a group of Austrian cineastes in 2016, just a few months before her death.
“I had no idea what was happening. Or at most I had a very poor idea. No more than the majority of people. Therefore, I do not feel guilty”.
Directed by Claudio Beccari, Franca Nuti plays the disarming – and at the same time unsettling – figure of Pomsel, a woman who lived a very long life (1911-2017), carrying the memory of the horrors with her to the end of the 20th century and beyond.
A tireless worker, she was employed in the 1930s and 40s first by a Jewish insurance broker and then by the German Broadcasting Corporation, finishing as the secretary for Joseph Goebbels, the Führer's Minister for Propaganda and ideologue for the extermination of the Jewish people, who went as far as to kill his six children and wife before killing himself after the fall of Hitler.
While Hannah Arendt focused on The banality of evil, Hampton looks at normality and the every-day acceptance by thousands of people of that monstrosity that risks returning at any moment unless we keep up our guard and never underestimate warning signs.
Duration: 80 minutes
Learn more
Booklet
ReadTwo-time Oscar Winner (Les Liaisons Dangereuses and The Father), in 2019 Christopher Hampton wrote a play based on the accounts of Brunhilde Pomsel, who worked for the Third Reich from 1933 and was the personal secretary of Joseph Goebbels from 1942 to 1945, left to a group of Austrian cineastes in 2016, just a few months before her death.
“I had no idea what was happening. Or at most I had a very poor idea. No more than the majority of people. Therefore, I do not feel guilty”.
Directed by Claudio Beccari, Franca Nuti plays the disarming – and at the same time unsettling – figure of Pomsel, a woman who lived a very long life (1911-2017), carrying the memory of the horrors with her to the end of the 20th century and beyond.
A tireless worker, she was employed in the 1930s and 40s first by a Jewish insurance broker and then by the German Broadcasting Corporation, finishing as the secretary for Joseph Goebbels, the Führer's Minister for Propaganda and ideologue for the extermination of the Jewish people, who went as far as to kill his six children and wife before killing himself after the fall of Hitler.
While Hannah Arendt focused on The banality of evil, Hampton looks at normality and the every-day acceptance by thousands of people of that monstrosity that risks returning at any moment unless we keep up our guard and never underestimate warning signs.
Duration: 80 minutes
Learn more
Booklet
ReadCredits
Piccolo Teatro Grassi
from 26 June to 11 July 2021
A German Life
by Christopher Hampton
based on the true story and accounts of Brunhilde Pomsel
based on the documentary film A German Life by Christian Krönes, Olaf Müller, Roland Schrotthofer and Florian Weigensamer / Blackbox Film & Media Productions (www.blackboxfilm.at)
translated by Monica Capuani
directed by Claudio Beccaria
sets by Guido Buganza
lighting by Claudio De Pace
with Franca Nuti
A Piccolo Teatro di Milano – Teatro d’Europa production
Tickets
Stalls full price € 40
Balcony full price € 32
There will be no provision for the sale of subscriptions
2019/2020 subscription holders may also purchase promotional tickets via the box office line or at the Teatro Strehler box office. Click here for further details.
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For artistic reasons, access to the auditorium is not permitted once the performance has started.
You may take your seat during any intervals.
Purchased tickets cannot be cancelled or substituted or be used for dates or times which differ from those indicated.
Safety measures for access to performances
- In order to prevent queues and crowding, we invite spectators to arrive at the venue for the show in advance of the scheduled start time.
- For access face masks must be worn (or an alternative form of protection approved by the Lombardy Region. Non-medical masks are prohibited). The face mask must be worn for the entire duration of the play. “Courtesy” face masks will be available for spectators who do not have suitable protection. Hands must be sanitised via the dedicated dispensers.
- Personnel at the entrance will have dedicated thermal scanners for measuring temperature. Spectators with a body temperature equal to or higher than 37.5°C will not be granted access.
- seats assigned guarantee respect for regulations regarding interpersonal distancing.
- Spectators are kindly requested to follow the instructions provided by the ushers as well as via audio and visual indications in the venue.
Groups
For information on tickets and the use of vouchers for organised groups, please contact the Office for Public Promotion and Cultural Proposals
tel. +39 02.72.333.216
email promozione.pubblico@piccoloteatromilano.it