THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK AT THE STATE THEATRE

Above pic : The cast of The Diary of Anne Frank. Pic Amanda Humphreys

Anne Frank’s legendary diary, originally titled The Diary of A Young Girl, was published  in 1947.  A new production by Drew Anthony Creatives of  Frances  Goodrich and Albert Hackett’s (1955) stage adaptation is currently playing in Sydney.

It is the years between 1942 and 1944, and the Nazi regime is in power and  at its fiercest. Otto Frank knows that the situation is totally desperate. Frank is trying to make out that his business has closed down, and that he and his family has moved to an unspecified destination.

Frank  moves his family, his wife Edith, and their two  daughters, Margot and Anne to live in the attic space above his shop. They are to live there twenty four hours a day. In order to survive, Frank organises for two non Jewish employees to discreetly come to the attic with food and provisions.

As things become worse, more people are invited to join them in the attic. His business partner Putti Van Daan, Putti’s wife, Petronella, and their son,  Peter. Then, a bit later on, Frank’s family dentist, Mr Dussell, joins them.

There is so much drama inherent in this situation and Drew Anthony Creative’s production captures this well. The work of the creative team is excellent. Drew Anthony’s attic set with mattresses flung everywhere evocatively captures the intolerably claustrophobic conditions that the occupants have to live with. Two swastikas, high up, on either side of the back of the stage, stand ominously over the action.

The main feature of Jason Bovaird’s lighting design is the piercing  strobe of light that shines through the attic window, and at times poignantly spotlights Anne as she is writing her diary.

Jason Gibbs sound design with escalating sounds of screeching vehicles and crashing glass  raised the tension even higher.

All of the performances reflected their characters authentically and with plenty of resonance. Chloe-Jean Vincent is the cheeky, bright spirited Anne who wrote in her diary the phrase that has defined her, ‘in spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart’.

Phil Bedworth plays Otto Frank, a distinguished, gentle man. As a 13th birthday present Otto gives Anne the diary. Anne feels more aligned with her soft natured father than with her mother Edith, played by Holly Easterbrook, who is harder on her.

Emma Smith is Anne’s sweet natured, even tempered  sister, Margot.

Matt Dyktynski plays Peter Van Daan’s business partner, Putti, with Asha Cornelia Cluer  playing his wife, Petronella. At different times during the play, the situation gets the better of them,  putting a great stress on  their marriage.

Their son, Peter, is played by Nathan Hansen, a shy but thoughtful young teenager. Anne and Peter end up spending more and more time together  which makes Anne think, what would it be like to kiss?

Jamie Jewell plays family dentist, Jan Dussel, whose very rigid demeanour is completely in compatible with the situation at hand. Anne is constantly teasing him, and his nerves become increasingly frayed.

Otto’s two friends ‘on the outside’, Gracie Tolich as Miep Gies and Kingsley Judd as Mr Kraler, bring them provisions and the latest news on the dire situation.

It is incredibly hard to believe that Otto Frank and his family and friends managed to live in such difficult  conditions for  two long years and that they were taken in to Nazi ‘custody’ just as the war was starting to turn around in favour of the Allies.

The  play had a  particular resonance for audiences in the wake of the Bondi massacre, in a scene where Otto lit the Menorah and  the family sang, albeit a muted rendition, a song celebrating Chanukah, the Festival of Light.

This was a poignant and powerful production. THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK is currently playing the State theatre, Market Street, city.

Production photography by Amanda Humphreys