Roger Peltzman’s poignant solo show Dedication explores the powerful role of music in helping to relieve wounds that will never fully heal.
Recounting his coming to terms with second generation survivor trauma, Peltzman’s Dedication explores his family’s tragic history fleeing the Nazi invasion in war-torn Europe. After learning about his uncle Norbert Stern, a brilliant pianist, who was murdered in Auschwitz aged 21, Peltzman developed a fascination with his inheritance. Holocaust trauma can be inherited by the next generation, but through music, one-man tribute Dedication looks at how art can begin to heal.
After an acclaimed run in New York and at the Edinburgh Fringe, Dedication will be making its London debut at Marylebone Theatre, London’s newest cross-arts venue.
Roger Peltzman’s solo show is a deeply poetic recount of his family’s harrowing escape from Berlin to Brussels in 1933, centring on his Uncle Norbert, taken in his prime by Nazi rule. By using projection, imagery, and musical performances of everything from blues to Chopin, Peltzman re-establishes a legacy for his family in this extraordinary yet relatable Holocaust story. Dedication seeks to heal ancestral wounds and pay tribute to a past that has become present, telling the story of second-generation survival.
Writer and performer Roger Peltzman comments, as survivors dwindle – the next generation must pick up the gauntlet. With Dedication I’m trying to share with audiences the history and lessons of the Holocaust – not to mention the legacy of trauma. By focusing on my family – and my passionate desire for connection– the vastness of the holocaust, and its legacy, becomes personal.
Dedication is at Marylebone Theatre Wednesday 7th June – Saturday 24th June 2023
