Overview
Synopsis
Leopoldstadt follows the huge, extended Merz family who reside in Vienna, Austria. They have been settled there since Grandma Emilia fled pogroms in the East many years earlier. They are a family of Jewish intellectuals and free citizens of the Austro-Hungarian empire. Moving from 1899 to 1955, the play follows the rise and fall of Vienna’s Jewish community through the lens of one family They face the grief of losing a son and nephew in the First World War, navigating the family business through the depression and the rise of Bolshevism, and the onslaught of Nazi invasion. By the final scene, set in 1955, this huge family has been tragically reduced to just three survivors. Leopoldstadt takes a bold look at what it means to be Jewish for one’s self, but also in the eyes of others, and asks what happens when history catches up with you.
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Context
Tom Stoppard’s 2020 play Leopoldstadt is fictional, yet it has an autobiographical element. Stoppard’s four grandparents died in Nazi concentration camps but the playwright only found out that his family was Jewish and that he had fled Histler’s invasion into his native Czechoslovakia with them as a very young child.
Leopoldstadt premiered in London’s Wyndham Theatre in January 2020 but its run was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic. The production was directed by Patrick Marber and won
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Scene One
It is December 1899 in Vienna, Austria. The Merz family home is in the midst of pleasant chaos as the children decorate the Christmas tree and several conversations are held at once amongst the extended family. Little or no sense can be made, except that there is a chocolate cake which is making the rounds amongst adults and children alike. As they talk, it becomes clear that they are a traditional Jewish family, but Gretl and Ernst, Grandma Emilia’s daughter-in-law and
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Character Portrayals
See StageAgent members who have performed roles in Leopoldstadt.
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Key Terms
A type of performance or script that draws directly from the playwright’s or actor’s personal life and experiences.
The genocide of Jews and others by Nazi Germany, portrayed in theatre to memorialize victims and examine human cruelty.
A political theory critiquing capitalism and class struggle, frequently central in Brechtian and epic theatre.
A fascist regime often dramatized to examine themes of extremism, propaganda, genocide, and moral collapse.
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Guide Written By:
Alexandra Appleton
Writer, editor and theatre researcher