Taken At Midnight

(Paperback)

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Description

In your quest for respectability I think we can say you have been talking out of both corners of your mouth. One corner talks to your rich backers, the other to your street-fighters. 1931. Hans Litten is one of the most celebrated lawyers in Berlin, famed for his brilliant mind and the rhetorical flair with which he defends those fighting back against the rapidly growing Nazi movement. So, when he calls Herr Hitler as star witness in the trial of a band of murderous SA men, the politician feels the full force of Littens intellect, wit and courage. It arouses in Hitler a feeling he cant abide or forget. Two years later, on the night of the Reichstag fire, Litten is arrested. He is held without trial, beaten, tortured, and threatened as an enemy of human society. As Litten disappears into the Nazi system, his indomitable mother, Irmgard, confronts his captors and, at enormous personal risk, fights to secure his release. This riveting drama by the writer of The Man Who Crossed Hitler explores Irmgard's struggle, her sons resistance, and the heroic battle of the weak against the powerful, truth against lies and mothers against murderers. Taken At Midnight received its world premiere on 26 September 2014 at the Minerva Theatre, Chichester. This edition features an introduction by the author.

Reviews

Taken at Midnight could easily become a simple story of a heroic mother battling to save her incarcerated son, but Hayhurst has the intelligence to highlight the complexity of the characters, without diminishing the brutality of the Nazi regime from its beginnings. * Guardian *
Hayhurst's drama, inevitably harrowing, is nevertheless permeated with Litten's own ineradicable wit and passionate sense of the importance of art. * Daily Telegraph *
This gripping new play about the Nazi regime is a welcome arrival in the West End. * The Times *
Set in 30s Germany, this [play] has fully realised characters and a narrative thread pulled tight like a drawstring - or noose. * Observer *

Author Bio

Mark Hayhurst has largely written and directed for TV and film. His credits include 37 Days (BBC2), Hans Litten vs Adolf Hitler: To Stop A Tyrant (BBC2), Terror! Robespierre and the French Revolution (BBC2), London's Burning (Juniper Communications for Channel 4), The Man Who Crossed Hitler (BBC2), The Difficult Birth of the NHS (BBC2), and The Somme (Darlow-Smithson for Channel 4).