Patrick Marber is to direct a new play at London’s Young Vic theatre in which a family argue over what to do with a piece of art that may have been painted by Adolf Hitler.
Nachtland, by the acclaimed German playwright Marius von Mayenburg (The Ugly One), is described as “a mordant satire about marriage, legacy, the rise of the new right and terrible impulses buried deep”. The play follows two siblings who are clearing out their late father’s house when they discover an old painting bearing Hitler’s name. It leads them to discuss whether they should keep, sell or destroy what could be the work of the Nazi leader.
Marber, who last month won a Tony award as the director of Tom Stoppard’s Leopoldstadt, said he wanted his production of Nachtland to be “thrilling and surprising, the kind of theatre I love”. He called the play a “jagged, modern satire” but added that “when the laughter stops, there’s a haunting disquiet underneath”.
The play had its premiere at the Schaubühne in Berlin in December, directed by Von Mayenburg himself. The Young Vic’s production of Nachtland will run from 20 February to 20 April, in a translation by Maja Zade.
The painting in the play is a street scene of Vienna, where Hitler attempted to establish himself as a young artist. Recent auctions of paintings signed A Hitler have sparked outrage and also led to questions over their authenticity. Last year, Channel 4 was criticised for broadcasting a show in which a studio audience decided whether Jimmy Carr should destroy a painting by Hitler.
Before Nachtland, the Young Vic will revive another disturbing play about familial unrest. Matthew Dunster is to direct Harold Pinter’s The Homecoming, which opens for previews on 27 November. Dunster said Pinter had the ability to “take working-class situations and hone them into something really poetic, crystallised and potent. His plays are about patriarchal force and what it takes to resist that, whether at home or in the state. The Homecoming encapsulates this and poses big, universal questions about power.”
Kwame Kwei-Armah, the artistic director of the Young Vic, said he was “overjoyed to welcome Matthew and Patrick to dance with one of our mightiest modern classics and an electrifying new work I’m convinced will be a future classic. These are plays that test and entertain us, in the hands of brilliant artists.”
Casting and full creative teams are yet to be announced. Anna Fleischle will design Nachtland while The Homecoming will be designed by Moi Tran.
