MARIA DUARTE, JAMES WALSH and ANDY HEDGECOCK review The Invite, My Father’s Island, Nirvanna: the Band, the Show, the Movie, and Oh My Goodness!
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An extraordinary family saga
The Kuczynskis were communists who escaped Germany shortly after the nazi takeover. In these extracts from his new biography on them, JOHN GREEN tells the story of what then ensued for people living through, and surviving, dangerous times
PAUL DONOVAN is chilled by the contemporary resonance of Harper Lee’s coming of age tale amidst racism and white supremacy in this excellent production
GEOFF BOTTOMS recommends the unashamedly light-hearted escapism on offer in this stage version of the 1963 film
Full of mysterious religious references and radical sound design, the Scottish duo’s new offering is candidate for album of the year, suggests SIMON DUFF
MARY CONWAY revels in a powerful reminder that human lives are not defined by physical perfection
PAUL DONOVAN recommends the fine performances in this account of the pre-war meeting between the US president and the British king
TECLYN AROD relishes an intimate celebration of jazz improvisation that mixes local and national musicians
THE WHOLE Kuczynski family — parents and six children — managed to escape Germany shortly after Hitler’s rise to power. The father, Robert Rene, was forced to flee first after the Gestapo came looking for him.
His wife Berta, to begin with, stayed in Berlin with her three youngest daughters until, in 1934, she was able to sell the family home, albeit at a knock-down price. Jewish-owned properties were forcibly purchased or simply commandeered by “Aryan” Germans. After the sale, they left for Britain immediately.
Berta’s eldest son Jurgen and his wife Marguerite were now the only members of the family still remaining and faced the question of how to survive in Berlin, both financially as well as in terms of safety. Jurgen was working with the Communist Party which had by then been driven underground.
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