"The War Was Never Over For Me" : Exploring Intergenerational Trauma in the Walk-In Theatre Project, "My Uncle David."

• In Event: Arts, Educational Criticism, and Connoisseurship

Abstract

I call this play a walk-in performance because I invite audience members to walk into places that no longer exist, such as the city of my father’s childhood, or act as my family members. “My Uncle David” evokes the experience of The Blank Page, of knowing there is something unspoken in the family - something no one could talk about - but it is there (a gestalt of trauma) - and it torments you but you cannot remain silent. My path to healing began when my uncle David took me to the Sallaspils concentration camp memorial as a child. I was 9 years old. My uncle David did not tell me why we were there. His camp had no memorial.

Author

• Svetlana Fouer, Young Theatre Cologne