The First To Go
what?Imprisoned for their imperfections, three inmates at an institute of eugenics pass around a simple story. As their fate closes in, the dark spiral of their story tightens to a noose. Presented by benchtours.
Hidden history
by Shona CravenAn explosive new play about Nazi persecution tours Scotland this month.
The First To Go is not about Jewish people, or gay people, but a less talked-about group of victims: those with mental and physical disabilities. The brutally blunt title suggests an unflinching piece of theatre.
The play is the work of Nabil Shaban, one of the co-founders of respected disabled-led theatre company Graeae. The writer and performer was unaware that disabled people were killed by the Nazis until his late twenties, and has spent more than a decade working on the play. It will receive its world premiere two weeks after the unveiling of the UK's first memorial to the disabled victims of Hitler's regime.
Peter Clerke will direct this co-production between benchtours and Sirius Pictures, which features a fully inclusive cast of eight and is suitable for ages fifteen and over.
The First To Go opens at the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh on May 23, and tours to the Byre Theatre, St Andrews and Tron Theatre, Glasgow.