“La Obra (The Play)”: A Review of the Fictional Docu-Theater Performance in Art Nouveau Theater.

A theater maker living in Lyon can’t sleep, so he surfs the internet. There he comes across a fascinating story: a Polish Jew who fled to Argentina during the Nazi era recreates his Polish home as a backdrop and, with the help of the village community, stages his life story as a play, which he performs anew year after year.

life and theatre

And every year the piece gets bigger and more extensive. Simon Frank, as the Pole is said to be called, is slowly but surely becoming a celebrity, and the play changes the lives of those involved. Until one day the shocking truth comes to light: Simon Frank (Warning, spoiler alert) is actually a Nazi criminal who assumed the identity of one of his victims. The village community is in danger of breaking up.

The new work by Argentinian theater maker Mariano Pensotti is fictional docu-theater that touches the heart but isn’t really captivating enough. Nevertheless: An exciting, highly interesting evening.