Latest news with #ex-Nazi
Telegraph
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
The Producers: What you need to know about the side-splitting musical comedy in the West End and how to find tickets
Mel Brooks's legendary musical comedy is back – and it's definitely not pulling its punches. This laugh-a-minute backstage show, set in 1959, follows an odd-couple pair of con artists, failing theatre producer Max Bialystock and timid accountant Leo Bloom, who team up to defraud investors by staging a deliberately terrible Broadway musical. It's totally outrageous showbiz satire, from the duo's chosen play, Springtime for Hitler: A Gay Romp with Adolf and Eva at Berchtesgaden, created by a deranged ex-Nazi soldier, to the flamboyant director and increasingly madcap rehearsal hijinks. By the time we reach the infamous Springtime for Hitler musical number, audiences are reduced to helpless hysterics. The Producers won a record-breaking 12 Tony Awards for its original Broadway run in 2001, and was also a massive success in the West End in 2004, starring Nathan Lane and Lee Evans. It has since been staged frequently, but this is the first time we've seen it in London since that initial run. Patrick Marber's smash-hit revival at the Menier Chocolate Factory is now transferring to the Garrick Theatre in the West End for a much-anticipated encore, starring Andy Nyman and Marc Antolin. How to buy tickets for The Producers You can find seats for the London production of The Producers on Telegraph Tickets. Check the site for the latest prices. The cast The fabulously outlandish roles in The Producers are a treat for actors. The original 1967 movie version starred Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder, succeeded by Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick for the stage musical version. Subsequent casts have included Roger Bart, Cory English, Reece Shearsmith and Jason Manford. Now Andy Nyman has his turn as the colourful Max Bialystock. Nyman was nominated for an Olivier Award for Fiddler on the Roof, appeared in the Wicked movie, and co-created the play Ghost Stories. The cast also features Marc Antolin (Olivier nominated for Little Shop of Horrors) as Leo, plus Trevor Ashley (Hairspray) and Joanna Woodward (The Time Traveller's Wife). The Producers is directed by Patrick Marber. His writing ranges from TV comedy The Day Today to plays such as Dealer's Choice and Closer. He was Olivier nominated for directing Tom Stoppard's Travesties and won a Tony for directing Stoppard's Leopoldstadt. The details Where is The Producers playing? The Producers runs at the Garrick Theatre on Charing Cross Road, which is close to Leicester Square, Trafalgar Square, and other theatres in London's West End. What is the running time of The Producers? The running time of The Producers is 2 hours and 30 minutes, including an interval. How long is The Producers running for? The Producers is booking to July 19, 2025. What is the minimum age for The Producers? The age recommendation for The Producers is 10+. Does The Producers have accessible tickets? Yes, the show has captioned, BSL and audio-described performances scheduled. Find more information on the theatre website. The review
Al Jazeera
06-04-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
A Deadly Nazi Cult in Chile
For nearly 40 years, a secretive colony in the Chilean countryside hid unspeakable horrors: child abuse, torture, and a twisted legacy of Nazism. Colonia Dignidad, led by ex-Nazi Paul Schäfer, thrived not just as a cult but as a brutal tool of oppression during Chile's Pinochet regime. How did this enclave evade justice for so long—and why did the Chilean government turn a blind eye, or worse, offer its support? In a story that goes right to the heart of the German and Chilean governments, what justice can the victims themselves hope for?
Telegraph
23-03-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
The dictator who went on holiday to Britain – and ended up in prison
When the octogenarian former dictator of Chile, General Augusto Pinochet, arrived in London in Oct 1998 for what he thought would be a trip to a friendly nation for minor medical treatment and some shopping, he triggered one of the great causes célèbres of human rights litigation. He also landed the then relatively new Labour government of Tony Blair with a massive diplomatic headache. Within days he had been arrested by Scotland Yard on an arrest warrant issued by a Spanish judge alleging crimes against humanity, murder and torture. But Gen Pinochet, as a former head of state and a serving senator in the Chilean parliament was, surely, immune from prosecution – or so he thought. There followed an unprecedented legal wrangle over the ambit of international law in such cases which is well told here by Phillipe Sands, the lawyer who was party to the case against Pinochet, representing Human Rights Watch. 38 Londres Street – the title refers to the address of the old Chilean socialist party turned into a place of detention and torture by the Pinochet regime – is essentially an account of how difficult it is to bring to book those guilty of the most appalling crimes. It's interwoven with a separate, though related, story about a Nazi called Walter Rauff, who sought sanctuary in Chile after the war despite being one of the most wanted men on the planet. He had been responsible for the design of the mobile death wagons that toured eastern Europe gassing Jews in their thousands. The irony is that Rauff had been in Allied hands in 1945 and was scheduled to be tried at Nuremberg, but for some reason was overlooked and then managed to escape. He used the so-called ex-Nazi 'rat lines' to make his way to Ecuador, where he met Pinochet, then a junior army officer, and eventually to Chile. There his particular skills were put to good use organising the necessary requirements of state repression.
