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Nazi loot
SIMON PARSONS is spellbound by abrupt changes from tragedy to farce in Mayenburg’s dark comedy about the long shadow of German history
12. (L-R) John Heffernan, Dorothea Myer-Bennett, Jenna Augen, Jane Horrocks, Angus Wright in Nachtland [Ellie Kurttz]

Nachtland
Young Vic, London

THIS thought-provoking and highly entertaining play is startlingly original. Employing a broad range of dramatic styles, Marius Von Mayenburg’s German play tackles a range of political and social issues linked by a discussion on the value of art and its relationship to the observer.

Nicola (Dorothea Myer-Bennett) and Philipp (John Heffernan) are in the process of clearing out the worthless contents from the crumbling home of their recently deceased father when they come across a 1920s Viennese watercolour.

Their amusing, childish bickering switches to an argument on the painting’s subject and style before their spouses discover that the picture might have been painted by Adolf Hitler.

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