behind the scenes — dreams of anne frank - Lewis Family Playhouse

B E H I N D T H E S C E N E S - -
DREAMS OF ANNE FRANK
A Resource Guide for Teachers and Parents
ABOUT THE PLAY AND THE PRODUCTION:
A C T I – I N T R O D U C I N G T H E P L A Y
DREAMS OF ANNE FRANK was commissioned by the Polka Theatre (a well regarded theatre for young audiences in London) in 1992
to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of Anne Frank going into hiding. Bernard Kops used Anne’s diary to investigate the
imagination and dreams of an adolescent girl who wanted so much to be a writer.
The playwright believed that it was important to make young people aware that there is still prejudice in the world, and that they have
the power to change it for the better. Otto Frank, Anne’s father, in publishing the diary after the war, wanted young people to be able
to read her diary to open their eyes to the lessons of the past, but also to the realities of the present. Anne’s diary, and this play about
her life, celebrates the spirit of creativity that thrives despite the hatred and the horror that humans continue to expose upon the
world.
The play focuses on Anne’s imaginary world. She used her writing and her dreams to help herself cope with the reality of the world
around her. We hope that our production of the play will serve as a vehicle for more discussion about the Second World War, about
prejudice, and about how war affects young people today. As Vicky Ireland, the Artistic Director of the Polka Theatre put it, “DREAMS
OF ANNE FRANK is a play of substance which treats its young audience as intelligent and perceptive and talks to them on their own
terms.”
It is also a very theatrical presentation of the story. Since the play is based so much on Anne’s imagination, the setting is not realistic.
The set, with it’s stark wall full of doors and a ladder that lead nowhere, serves as a metaphor for Anne and her family’s confinement in
the attic, with the thriving city of Amsterdam just outside their reach. The production brings Anne’s dreams and imagination to life and
makes them disappear again in the blink of an eye.
CHA RA CT E RS I N TH E P LA Y:
Anne Frank - a 14 year old Jewish girl living in
Amsterdam during World War II
Otto Frank - Anne’s father
Edith Frank – Anne’s mother
Margot Frank –Anne’s older sister
Mr. Van Daan – Otto Frank’s business partner
Mrs. Van Daan – wife of Mr. Van Daan
Peter Van Daan –Mr. & Mrs. Van Daan’s son
Mr. Dussell - A dentist who comes to live in the
Secret Annex with the two families
Important Dates in Anne’s Life:
1929 Anne Frank is born in Frankfurt, Germany
1933 Adolf Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany.
Boycott of Jewish businesses begins
The Frank Family leaves Germany and moves to Amsterdam,
in Holland
1934 Anne starts kindergarten
1940 Otto Frank starts his spice business
The German army invades Holland, and the occupation
begins.
1942 Anne receives her diary as a birthday present
Margot receives papers ordering her to register for mandatory
work.
The family moves into the “Secret Annex”
1944 The inhabitants of the Annex are betrayed and are sent to
Westerbork transitcamp
1945 Margot and Anne contract typhoid and die at Bergen-Belsen
concentration camp.
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