I Was A German is a thoughtful and timely exploration of identity, Britishness, and contemporary attitudes to migration, framed through a supposedly well-trodden chapter of modern history.
Two narratives unfold. One follows Clare’s attempt to obtain German citizenship, her key to a European passport in a post-Brexit world. The other tells the story of her grandfather Heinz, a German-Jewish journalist forced to flee Berlin in the 1930s.
Clare grapples with why her grandfather never returned. It turns out he wrote a book on it. The reasons are perhaps too many to count, but there is a heartwarming moment at the end of the show when we are told that Heinz viewed the British as tolerant and respectful. Fraenkel notes that German has no equivalent phrases for “seeing two sides to the story” or “hearing someone out.”
The show carries a distinctive political edge. Stories of British internment camps, where German refugees were confined during the Second World War, are rarely told. It is poignant when Fraenkel recalls how British citizens wrote letters demanding an end to this practice, eventually helping to bring it to a close. This glimpse of empathy from the 1940s serves as a sharp lens through which to critique today’s apathy and hostility towards migrants.
Clare Fraenkel proves herself a talented performer. Switching between her own informal voice and her grandfather’s measured tones, complete with a German accent, she embodies her characters with ease and captivates as a storyteller.
At times the piece feels dense with information, but Fraenkel holds the audience’s attention with warmth and wit. Lowri James’s direction ensures the pacing remains energetic and varied.
Stylised projections of silent film and cinema lend an evocative backdrop, and a handful of short musical numbers provide light relief. However, these musical interludes felt slightly tentative; committing more fully to them, or leaving them out altogether, might have created a more cohesive effect.
I Was a German weaves together the past and present to tell a story that feels urgently relevant. By reframing familiar history through a personal lens, Fraenkel asks a vital question: are we still as tolerant as Heinz once believed us to be?
Image courtesy of Karla Gowlett, provided to The Student as press material.
