Youth Without God review – anti Nazi drama calls out liberal bystanders
almost 6 years in The guardian
Coronet theatre, LondonChristopher Hampton’s disturbing adaptation of Ödön von Horváth’s 1937 novel is a promising text, albeit let down by an imperfect production
Christopher Hampton has been a consistent champion of Ödön von Horváth. He wrote a fine play, Tales from Hollywood, speculating about what might have happened if Horváth had not died in a freak accident in Paris in 1938. Now, he has adapted Horváth’s novel of the previous year, which deals with the dilemmas faced by anti-Nazis. The result is an incisive, disturbing text that gets a far from ideal production.
The hero, simply known as the Teacher, is a mild-mannered figure who tries to instil a knowledge of history and geography into a group of brutish 15-year-olds. The crisis comes when he is severely reprimanded for objecting to a racist remark by a pupil. Left to supervise this gang of young Nazis on an Easter holiday camp, the Teacher finds himself becoming a voyeuristic observer of their sexual intrigues and internal rivalries – which culminate in a murder. Continue reading...