Actors shine in Kindertransport

That’s why there were no reservations when he was casting his latest show, Kindertransport, which is being staged at the Headgate Theatre, Colchester.

It tells the story of one of the thousands of Jewish children who were evacuated from Nazi Europe, through the port of Harwich, just before the Second World War.

Steve, who is from Ipswich, says: “I get to work with young performers all over the country and I have to say I’m very impressed with the young actors here.”

Kindertransport, written in 1992 by Diane Samuels, follows the journey of ten-year-old Eva, as she escapes Nazi Germany for a new life in Manchester.

She lives in the expectation of being reunited with her family, but theses hopes are dashed by the outbreak of war.

As young Eva struggles with her displaced childhood, past and present intertwine in the play. We see her adult self, Evelyn, being forced to confront her past when daughter Faith discovers some old letters in the attic.

Two of the leading roles in the production are taken by Bea Svistunenko, 16, from Wivenhoe, and Jenna Saiz, 20, from Colchester.

Bea first got involved in theatre when she was 12, performing in Wivenhoe’s Summer Youth Theatre, and even then they were pretty challenging pieces.

She reveals: “It was Bed by Jim Cartwright. I had seen the previous year’s production of Alice in Wonderland and loved it. Then when I started senior school I discovered half the cast were on my school bus.”

Most recently, she starred in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream for Brightlingsea Youth Theatre, but she confesses Kindertransport is one of the toughest plays she’s been in.

She adds: “I play Eva from the age of nine up to 17, so there’s the challenge of getting the age right for a start.

“There are also a lot of tough issues in the play like having to cope without your parents and growing up prematurely, but I’m loving doing it.”

While Bea has had experience doing tough dramatic roles, for Jenna, with a background in musical theatre, Kindertransport is well and truly out of her comfort zone.

Now studying musical theatre at Colchester Institute, she has been performing with CO2, the junior branch of the town’s operatic society, since 2002.

She says: “I play Faith, the daughter of the grown-up Eva, and I must admit I did do quite a bit of research on the internet before we started rehearsals. I’ve been so gripped with the play I’ve booked tickets to go to Poland to see the concentration camps.

“I’ve not done a lot of straight stage work in the past, but that’s kind of why I’m doing it and I couldn’t have picked a better play than this one.”