★★★★ The Arts Desk, The Public Reviews, LondonTheatre1, Theatre Bubble, Exeunt, TheatreFullStop, Official Theatre
Six decades ago, Eva lived in Berlin. She remembers her house on Essener Straße. It used to have a blue door.
Now her granddaughter Rosie is making the city her home. But just as she begins to plan for her future, Eva’s oncoming dementia causes Rosie to question her family’s past.
As secrets unravel around her, what will Rosie discover? And what will be lost forever?
Now This Is Not The End is the story of three generations of women, two capital cities and one vital struggle to keep memories alive.
Developed at the Royal Court by one of our most exciting emerging playwrights, Rose Lewenstein’s poignant drama asks how the actions of our ancestors shape our future, how we come to have an identity of our own, and what – if anything – it means to have a homeland.
“They’re just stories. There’ll come a point when nobody can remember”
★★★★ “Lewenstein writes with a mixture of remarkable economy, acute observation and passionate intensity” – The Arts Desk
★★★★ “This quietly powerful play succeeds on the strength of its writing and the honesty of delivery from the cast … A poignant and articulate piece of theatre” – The Public Reviews
★★★★ “Fascinating … haunting to observe” – LondonTheatre1
★★★★ “An eloquent, but harrowing alternative account of the Jewish experience during the Nazi Genocide” – Theatre Bubble
★★★★ “[A] carefully crafted chamber piece” – Exeunt Magazine
★★★★ “A well-achieved reflection on the importance of legacy … the whole cast do a tremendous job.” – TheatreFullStop
★★★★ “Absorbing and affecting … Highly recommended.” – Official Theatre
“[A] thoughtful play about family, legacy and memory” – The Stage
“A subtle, sweet study of legacy and love.” – Time Out
“Lewenstein conjures the emotional world of this family excellently” – There Ought To Be Clowns
<[ /]*h2[^>]*>Post-show discussions<[ /]*h2[^>]*>
Postmemory and transgenerational haunting
Monday 8 June – 9.30pm
Hosted by Dr Silke Arnold-de Simine, lecturer in Memory, Museum and Cultural Studies for Birbeck University and Astrid Köhler, professor in German at Queen Mary University.
Silke Arnold-de Simine
Senior Lecturer in Memory, Museum and Cultural Studies. Co-organiser of the Cultural Memory Research Series at the Institute of Modern Languages Research. Teaching and research interests lie in memory studies, museums and identity politics, media transfer, media archaeology and the uncanny.
Previously taught at the University of Mannheim (German) and at the University of Cambridge as well as a HRC Visiting Fellowship at the ANU (Canberra, Australia).
Astrid Köhler
Astrid Köhler teaches courses on German literature and culture from the 18th century to the present day; comparative literature; and Germany language (esp. translation from English into German). She is convenor of the Literature Section of the Centre for Anglo-German Cultural Relations. Her research interests are divided between two broad fields: the Cultural History of late 18th & early 19th Century Germany on the one hand, and the Literature written by East German Authors before and after German re-unification on the other.
With regard to the former, she has published widely on salons and other forms of sociability in the Age of Goethe as well as on the public rituals and festivities, literary journals and prose fiction of the period. As to the latter, she has published several journal articles between 2000 and 2007 and a monograph in 2007. Current projects include a book on the literature(s) of the divided Germany (with R.M. Gillett) and a study of the late 18th/early 19th century spa culture in England and Germany.
Keepsakes evening with the Migration Museum
Friday 19th June – 9.30pm
Audiences are invited to bring a family keepsake to the post show discussion where curator Sue McAlpine will use the keepsakes to draw out a discussion about the history and effects of migration. Participants will be given the chance to question how objects embody memory – or more particularly, whether can hold memories and see the secret history of touch.
Company Q&A
Wednesday 24th June – 9.30pm
Join us for a post-show discussion with director Katie Lewis, writer Rose Lewenstein and members of the cast.
Dementia Friends Information Session
Saturday 13 June – 2pm-3pm
Learn more about what it’s like to live with dementia, and turn that understanding into action. An Alzheimer’s Society initiative.
Developed at the Royal Court, with support from the Peggy Ramsay Foundation
£17 / £12 concessions
Saturday matinees at 3:30pm
13 June – £14 / £12 concessions
20 June, 27 June – £17 / £12 concessions
Opening performances (3-6 June) – All tickets £12
Pay What You Can Tuesdays (tickets in person from 6pm – limited and subject to availability)
Tickets are £10 or less with Arcola Passport
Running time: 1 hour, 15 minutes approximately (no interval).
In Studio 2, seating is unallocated.
