‘The Diary of Anne Frank’ being staged to commemorate International Day of Holocaust Victims

Kathmandu, January 24, 2017: The famous play ‘The Diary of Anne Frank’ is being staged in the town to commemorate the International Day of the Victims of the Holocaust.

The performance is being conducted by One World Theatre in association with the United Nations, Embassy of Israel, Embassy of Germany and the Delegation of European Union in Nepal.

The play is based on the published diaries of Anne Frank, a young Jewish girl who went into hiding with her family and another Jewish family and acquaintance, during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. They stayed in the upper floor of a back building of Mr. Frank’s business, which Anne called “The Secret Annex”, helped by loyal Dutch employees. Anne faithfully kept a diary, a gift for her 13th birthday, for the two years and a month they were in hiding. The diary abruptly ends in August 1944 when the families were discovered and deported to Nazi concentration camps. Anne’s diary was discovered by their Dutch friends, kept safe and given to Otto Frank after the war; he was the only survivor of the eight Jews in hiding.

The Diary of Anne Frank opened in New York City in 1955, ten years after Anne’s death was confirmed in August 1945. In its simplest sense, the drama is a coming of age story with Anne in youthful conflict with her mother, adoring her father, envying her perfect-seeming sister Margot, and exploring young love with Peter in the close quarters of the annex. However, the tragic fate of the families and the background of the six million Jews killed in the Holocaust give the play a special poignancy and meaning. Anne, too, is revealed in her own words as an extraordinary human being–lively, spirited, a keen observer and lover of life. She has become a symbol of all the young people whose lives were cut short in the Nazi death camps and whose gifts, lost to the world, shine forth in the promise of the writing of Anne Frank.

The play is directed by Deborah Merola, whereas the stage adaptation is done by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett.

Box office opens at 5 pm on performance days.

Performance Days:

1. January 27, International Holocaust Remembrance Day (Invitation Only)

Naga Theatre, Hotel Vajra

Limited Public Performances:

2. January 30 & February 1, 6 PM

Naga Theatre, Hotel Vajra, Bijeswari, Swayambhu

Located on the road to Swayambhu Temple, close to the Bijeshwori temple complex

3. February 2, 3, & 4 2017, 6 PM

Yalamaya Kendra, Patan Dhoka, Lalitpur