ANDORRA

Written by Max Frisch

The republic of Andorra is invaded by totalitarian forces. The populace capitulates to the anti-Semitism of the aggressor and betrays Andri, the foundling son of the local schoolmaster. But Andri, it seems, is not a Jew at all. Andorra explores the mechanism of racism with the story of a non-Jew brought up as a Jew, who falls victim to anti-Semitic hostility.

To further increase its immediacy, our version of the play was set in a contemporary coastal town that visually referenced the South of France. In collaboration with the actor playing her (Coco Martens), a character called An Idiot in Frisch's text was expanded to become Dotto, the step-daughter of the innkeeper and a voluntary mute. After experiencing the events of the play, Dotto eventually found her voice at the production's conclusion. In Frisch's text, Andri's lover Barblin has her head shaved (off-stage) as punishment for her affair with a Jew. Underscored with Radiohead's Burn the Witch, and inspired by its chilling Wickerman-inspired video, our audiences experienced the Andorran community making a public example of Barblin in an especially dramatically unsettling way...  

VENUE: Corbett Theatre, East 15 Acting School; MA Acting

Photographs by Andrew H. WIlliams