THE moving and powerful story of Anne Frank and a floral legacy in her name will be on the Ipswich stage this week.

Souvenir d’Anne Frank, a play told in her own words from her famous diary, is coming to the New Wolsey Theatre as part of a national tour.

While it tells the story of Anne and her family’s time spent hidden in the attic of her home in wartime Holland, it also recounts the tale of the Souvenir d’Anne Frank rose which was created to commemorate the schoolgirl.

The rose was sent to Japan by her father many years after the war as a gift to a young Japanese girl. Now roses grafted from the original flower bloom at Hiroshima and Nagasaki and all over Japan. They are a national symbol of peace and reconciliation.

In the play, piano, violin and cello music played live on stage, weaves through poetry, performance and song, to tell Anne’s moving and inspiring stories.

As part of the Souvenir d’Anne Frank project, roses have now been sent to the group behind the play, Ensemble, from Japan – grafted from the same rose that Otto Frank sent all those years ago.

One of these roses was planted in the Peace Garden at Christ Church Park, as part of Holocaust Memorial Day events in Ipswich at the end of January.

Similar ceremonies took place in other towns and cities on the tour, including York, Burnley, Southampton and at Manchester’s Jewish Museum.

The life of Anne Frank and the legacy of her diary has inspired people all over the world. An outreach programme of educational workshops accompanies the tour.

An exhibition created during Ensemble’s workshop programme with Manchester’s Women Asylum Seekers Together, will also be on display at the New Wolsey Theatre alongside the performances.

Elizabeth Mansfield, Ensemble’s artistic director, said: “I hope the post show discussions with key figures from local organisations will engage our audiences with the central themes of the play, and how these relate to current hardships faced by people seeking asylum today.”