The Tin Ring
By Zdenka Fantlova
Adapted by Mike Alfreds and Jane Arnfield
The Lowry, 8 September 2012
As theatrical experiences go, this one was especially moving and will live long in the memory.
An adaptation of Zdenka Fantlova’s memoir, which deals in part with her internment in Belsen, it’s a tale of love and survival. Jane Arnfield delivers it as a monologue, assuming various voices and perspectives, a bare chair the only prop on stage. But the physicality and versatility of her performance makes it devastatingly effective. Yes, there are shadows before the darkness descends. Yet there are moments of humour here too.
Her father said to Zdenka once: ‘Never admit there is anything you cannot do.’ It was valuable and good advice. It remains so.
