The true story of a Warsaw doctor who protected 200 children during World War Two is the centre of Sidmouth Youth Theatre’s next production.
Tickets go on sale for Korczak on Monday (December 2), which will take place at The Manor Pavilion in February 2020.
Rehearsals are under way for the musical which is based upon the life of Janusz Korczak, who, inspired by the education he had seen in orphanages in South East London returned to Poland to create a similar model.
By 1942 he, and the children in his care, find themselves living in the appalling conditions of the Warsaw Ghetto.
The musical is inspired by Korczak's diary which was smuggled out of the Treblinka concentration camp. The diary recorded the experiences of the children's lives in the orphanage, the ghetto and their final journey to Treblinka.
Featuring a cast of 70 Sidmouth College students the show will feature 'inspirational' solo performances and 'soaring' choral work as the youngsters take on roles of real life people.
Korczak premiered at Plymouth Theatre Royal and The Rose Theatre, Kingston, in 2011.
Sidmouth Youth Theatre founder Angela Davies said: "This is an opportunity for a cast of 70 to play the roles of real characters across all the age ranges where many cameo roles will take the audience on a journey through the experiences of those persecuted by the Nazi regime.
"A play with a powerful message about humanity where Korczak's words acknowledge the dignity and spirit of the oppressed.
"This moving and liberating musical retelling of the life of Korczak and his young people is a story not of despair but of inspiration and hope, the victory of spirit over oppression. This is the story not only of Korczak but the young people in his care; their hopes, their fears and their dreams."
Korczak will be performed between Wednesday, February 5, and Saturday, February 8, with a matinee on Saturday. Tickets are priced as £12 for adults and under 16's £6 which are available from the theatre from December 2.
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