Written by Ödön von Horváth
Translated by Christopher Hampton
A gripping moral fable bringing to life some very real yet unworldly characters.
Thomas Hudetz is a respected stationmaster in deepest rural Germany. In a fractured moment of distraction, he inadvertently causes chaos and destruction. His mistake is compounded by the town’s shifting morality and as neighbour turns on neighbour, the authorities bear down on him. He perjures himself and the villagers turn against him.
Written in 1937 as Nazism was gaining ground, Ödön von Horváth signals the dangers of fascism and brutal herd mentality. Forced into exile for his anti-fascist writing and activism, but on the cusp of global success, he was killed in Paris in a freak accident during storm.
In Judgment Day, his characters become more vivid, depraved and unpredictable as the play goes on, and they enter the realms of cosmic timelessness. Morality and wild humanity fight it out and the Express Train 405 hurtles on to eternity…
This timely revival is the inaugural production from new theatre company Fright Train.
Director Matilda Ziegler revisits this play after 37 years, having played Anna in Stephen Daldry’s award-winning UK premiere of Judgment Day in 1989 at the Old Red Lion. Her daughter Faye Ziegler, a recent graduate of Oxford School of Drama, joins the cast to take on the same role.
Ticket Information:
Performance Dates: Tuesday 22nd Sept ~ Saturday 10th October
Performance Time: 2.30pm / 7.30pm
Run Time: 120 mins (including interval)
Tickets: £22.50 / £17.50 (includes booking fee)
Early Bird Tickets £15 Until 31st August