Holocaust survivor’s story brought to stage as Kinloss marks 80 years since Hungarian deportations
A special performance of Kindness: A Legacy of the Holocaust will take place on 9 June at Finchley United Synagogue, with survivor guests and school outreach
A moving theatrical tribute to Holocaust survivor Susan Pollack OBE will be staged at Finchley United Synagogue on Sunday 9 June, as the community marks 80 years since the deportation of Hungarian Jewry.
The production, Kindness: A Legacy of the Holocaust, tells Pollack’s story in her own words and has been hailed as one of the most powerful pieces of Holocaust theatre in the UK. It is created by Voices of the Holocaust, Europe’s only dedicated Holocaust theatre charity, which uses physical and verbatim performance to preserve and amplify survivor testimony,
Susan was just 13 years old when she was sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau in the summer of 1944. Over just eight weeks, more than 424,000 Jews were deported from Hungary, the vast majority murdered at Auschwitz. By the end of the Shoah, around 565,000 Hungarian Jews had been killed.
The 9 June event not only marks the historical anniversary but also offers a moment of communal reflection and renewed engagement with survivor testimony through meaningful, immersive theatre. The evening performance follows a matinee session hosted for local schools – part of Kinloss’s wider outreach efforts to engage audiences beyond the Jewish community.
“Kindness acts as a conduit for lived experience,” said Cate Hollis, co-author and Artistic Director of Voices of the Holocaust. “It re-humanises experiences that were dehumanised. It asks us all to bear witness.”
Pollack, now 94, has spent decades sharing her story in schools. She has endorsed the production, describing it as “so real, so accurate… a truer version of my story could not be shown.”
Supported by the AJR, European Jewish Congress, 45 Aid Society, Generation2Generation and MKDRS, the performance has already reached more than 40,000 students nationwide. It has been praised by educators and communal leaders alike,
Michael Newman OBE, CEO of the Association of Jewish Refugees, said: ‘Kindness manages to strike a balance between art and history. Verbatim theatre puts Susan’s words into the mouths of talented actors. The result is more than just entertainment – it is mediated testimony.”
The cast features Inbal Port as Susan, alongside May Lopez, Harry Freeman and Christian Peterson. The play was co-written by Hollis and acclaimed playwright Mark Wheeller, with a musical score by Judith Silver. Special guests expected at the event include Newman and fellow survivor Mala Tribich MBE.
The performance begins at 7:30pm and will be followed by a short panel or guest reflections. Tickets are available here.
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