2023-11-29 21:51:09
The persecution of Jews by an authoritarian regime is featured in the novel “The Greater Hope” by Ilse Aichinger from 1948. The production by Sara Ostertag shows the life of the protagonist Ellen, which at the same time reflects Aichinger’s autofictional story. Musician and ensemble member Mira Lu Kovacs composed the music to match the piece.
A 15-year-old, half-Jewish girl named Ellen lives in Vienna. She would like to emigrate to America with her mother. But Ellen doesn’t receive a visa because there is an authoritarian state administration in her hometown. People of Jewish faith are persecuted and viewed as “wrong” by supporters of the radical regime. Jewish children must therefore wear a yellow star as an identification mark. This novel reflects Aichinger’s youth in Vienna. While the writer’s sister was actually able to emigrate to the USA during the National Socialist era, she had to stay in Vienna at the time. Aichinger tells the story from the perspective of a young person who believes in humanity despite the terrible events of the Nazi era. Your visions of a better life become all the more hopeful the more threatening the circumstances seem. “The novel testifies in a very lyrical language how it is possible to create hope under traumatizing conditions, that is what is fascinating for me,” says Sara Ostertag regarding the idea of wanting to show the novel as a theater version.
The piece highlights a true story
When staging, she placed particular emphasis on transferring the story to the stage on different sensual levels in order to make Aichinger’s situation tangible. “Through the beauty of her language, she illustrates the cruelty of the regime, because in this way you learn how big your imagination has to be in order to be able to endure the reality that actually lies underneath,” says Ostertag.
Ilse Aichinger talks regarding how children play, invent games or maintain playful gestures, no matter how terrible a situation is. The director finds this element extremely interesting, as it suddenly makes it possible to deal with things that would otherwise be unbearable. Playing creates a form of self-empowerment and thus leads to coping with what has been experienced. “It is precisely this overwriting of reality, playing and telling each other that we use on stage,” reveals Ostertag. Music also plays a narrative role in all of her productions. Musician and ensemble member Mira Lu Kovacs wrote the songs for “The Greater Hope”.
“Aichinger’s lyrics are sometimes so rhythmic that you can’t escape them. “I went along and tried to turn the lyrics into melodies by speaking out loud,” says Kovacs regarding the creation process and her source of inspiration. Through the pictorial language she was forced to imagine the war battles of Vienna at that time. “How would you have felt as a child or teenager? What would you have heard and what would you no longer have heard? These attempts then became motifs that gave me hope,” says the musician regarding her thoughts while composing.
Kovacs also takes on the role of a narrative actress in “The Greater Hope.” “I enjoy not having to immerse myself in the children’s roles; that would require something different from me emotionally. As a narrator, I can look down from above and therefore understand what is happening,” she reveals.
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