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  • Anya Ostrovskaia presents

    The World of Yesterday

    Tue 19 - Wed 20 Nov at 7pm
    Tickets £8 - £12 (+ booking fee)
    ARCHIVE
    Culture, chaos, cabaret! Step into the memories of Austrian Jewish writer Stefan Zweig, where an increasingly fractured 20th century mirrors the world of today.

    Part of Voila! Theatre Festival in venues across London. Please note that the time on the printed brochure is incorrect - this show starts at 7pm.

    Get 25% off when you book more than one show across our Autumn Season (September - December 2024).

    Stefan Zweig’s “The World of Yesterday": culture, chaos, cabaret!

    A journey through the life of the renowned Austrian writer whose memoir captured the essence of the human experience in the early 20th century. Born to a Jewish family in Vienna, Zweig flourished during the peaceful pre-war years, before being forced into exile by the rise of Nazism. The World of Yesterday chronicled an irreversibly changing world, offering a poignant look at the fragility of civilization, and how easily we can be lost to hate. Holding a mirror to the world of today, this experimental cabaret adaptation asks us to look at our place in the continuing story.

    Bringing together a diverse and multi-disciplinary group of artists, the show is led by queer Jewish theatre-maker Anya Ostrovskaia, whose unequivocally political work deals with past, present, and the threads between. Her London debut Rooms Left Behind, a collaborative theatrical installation linking the Russian Invasion of Ukraine and Hong Kong protests, was shown at LIFT Festival, VAULT Festival, and Migration Matters Festival. Her immersive installation Theatre of Gulags excavated the dark history of USSR labour camps and the theatres built inside them, winning VAULT Festival's ‘Innovation Award’ before being selected for a residency at London Performance Studios.

    An enlightening and emotionally powerful experience, The World of Yesterday is a testament to the enduring power of art and culture, and the resilience of the human spirit.

    Content Notice
    Running Time 90 mins
    Wheelchair Accessible
    Wheelchair Accessible
    Assistance dogs welcome
    Assistance dogs welcome
    Content Notice
    Content NoticeMention of Suicide, Violence, Fascism.
    Health Notice
    Health NoticeSmoke/Fog/Haze, Loud Noises
    "Ultimately, this is historical requiem, an elegy for innocence lost, a higher register of existence extinguished, the barbarians assuming control."
    Tom Carrao
    "I have to say that this production was probably the most successful I have seen in my three years living in London, if only for the dialogue and conversation prompted after the show."
    Emma Dorfman
    "Raw and honest play with a witty view on absurdity of spread of nationalism."
    Audience feedback

    "Hats off to the CPT for this fine show, well researched and coming from a place of great passion... Comm­unity theatre at its most effective."

    Camden New Journal (Human Jam)