MARBLEHEAD — It’s an unquestionable fact that survivors of the Holocaust in which six million Jews were put to death in concentration camps by the Nazis during World War II were severely traumatized by their experience.
But Anne Lucas, in her play “From Silence” suggests that it isn’t just the direct victims who end up bearing the pain of that horrific episode of history. The trauma ends up being generational, she suggests.
The play is coming to the Marblehead Little Theatre on School Street next month and one of its directors feels the play tells her story too.
“From Silence” is based on a book chronicling the account of a grandmother, “Esther,” who survived Ravensbruck, a concentration camp in northern Germany where many medical experiments were performed on children. The woman hears that her temple in New Jersey is on lockdown, with her granddaughter trapped inside.
Despite pleas from her daughter, the woman has never talked about her experiences as a Holocaust survivor, because it was too painful. She also was conflicted about whether it’s easier to hide from her experiences.
But now, as she waits for a resolution to the situation at the temple, the grandmother comes to regret her silence and realizes it’s her duty to tell the story. She only hopes that in her case, it’s not too late, and that her granddaughter survives the siege at the temple.
Judy Wayne, a Lynn attorney who lives in Marblehead, understands perhaps as much as anyone the pain and trauma the grandmother feels, because her mother was also a Holocaust survivor.
“I’m excited to be co-producing the play after its off-Broadway sellout,” said Wayne. “See it to understand if you don’t know much about the life of a survivor child, and see it because it is so relevant to our country’s current political climate.”
Producing the play with Wayne is Wendy Webber. John Fogle, who has directed plays throughout the area, will direct “From Silence.”
The play, which had a successful off-Broadway run earlier this year with Karen Lynn Gorney (“Saturday Night Fever”) as Esther, will be at the MLT Oct. 13-22. Friday and Saturday shows are at 7:30 p.m. while Sunday shows are 2 p.m. and 5 p.m.
The play runs 90 minutes, without an intermission. After the Oct. 14 production, the woman on whom “Esther” is based will be at the MLT presentation and will talk of her experiences.
“It could be one of the last chances anyone will have to speak to a survivor, as those still alive are elderly and mostly unwell,” Wayne said.
