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Like opening a lovingly-wrapped present, Rose Lewenstein’s play slowly and carefully unfolds the history of three generations of women. Their story began in Germany, but, as Hitler’s power grew, the family was fractured by war and sent spinning across the waters to England.
‘Now This Is Not The End’ is a light and very personal story, one that deftly demonstrates how the paths of families were changed drastically by WWII. Rosie is at university in the present day, spending a year in Berlin. Meanwhile, in England, her uptight mother is struggling to keep hold of her past as her mother – Rosie’s German grandmother who fled the country aged nine – is beginning to forget things. The plot flashes forwards and backwards to reveal a story full of unhappiness but framed with hope.
The play looks at how pasts – not just our immediate pasts, but our historical background – seep through into our present. Told from the perspective of a modern, complicated family, it’s a story that rings true but it also, at times, feels a little insubstantial. The non-linear form varies the tone and keeps us guessing and the end flickers poignantly, but ultimately it leaves us wishing for a little more.
Katie Lewis’s production keeps things low-key, focusing on the family’s relationship – and all the emotional blackmail that accompanies it – and the cast make sure we’re with them throughout. It’s a realistic, well-performed portrait and most of the family scenes are witty, energetic slanging matches. There’s also a convincing, complicated bond between the three women at the piece’s heart. A subtle, sweet study of legacy and love.