Viewing Auschwitz from Today's Perspective

In 1987, Primo Levi, the Italian writer renowned for his autobiographical Survival in Auschwitz and other writings about the Holocaust, died after falling down the stairwell of his apartment house.

The stage play Primo is a fictional account of Levi's last day. In it, he questions the relevance of his writings to the new generation while journeying into the dreamscape of his memory to a day in Auschwitz. Each step forward draws him further into his memories, blurring the distinction between past and present. He moves into the mist of timelessness, drifting through its shadows and currents, sensing the faint whisperings of distant voices, beckoning.

The play emerges as a timeless depiction of Auschwitz driven by the prisoner's experience, defined by the survivor's memory. Primo creates an innovative way of staging a theatrical production by combining dialogue with choreographic movement. This brings a new realism to the performance by enhancing the unimaginable reality of the concentration camp environment, while displaying its devastating impact and illuminating the darkness that lingers in the human soul.

"A debut play about the horrors of the Holocaust, the weight of memory, and the compulsion to remember . . . demanding, essential theater." - Kirkus Reviews

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