Conspiracy

In January 1942 there was a meeting in Wanasee, Berlin, at which the Nazi "Final Solution" was discussed and decided. Strawmoddie's production of Loring Mandel's script, adapted from the original HBO film takes the only surviving transcript of the meeting and weaves an insight into this horrendous moment in human history.

With 16 people on stage this was a difficult show to keep moving but the cast and director managed it well. The movement between formal meeting and informal break-out moments over drinks and "nibbles" contrasts the banality of their gossip and chatter with the decision they are making to wipe an entire race from the face of Europe. Objections, based on humanity, legality, worry about how it would be seen and the loss of "slave" manpower were raised and squashed - often by personal threats to the safety of the objector. The meeting presents both a desire to be legal and one to move with all possible speed - what doesn't vary is their common desire to achieve the end goal.

The play ends with the protagonists each outlining how they fared; dead, executed, imprisoned, ignored or disappeared. Given current geopolitical situations with some states around the world imposing themselves on others by force and emerging extremism and racism in much of Western society, this play hits a tragically pertinent point.

The 90 minutes passed quickly and, whilst the delivery, and sound effects, were not consistent leading to some difficulty hearing certain passages this was a fascinating production.