In this Norwegian play questioning the consequences of gene technology and what makes a life “worthy of living,” presented with Scandinavian American Theater Company (SATC), playwright Kristofer Blindheim Grønskag juxtaposes two events set at different points in time. In 1939 Germany, Gerhard Herbert Kretschmar is born disabled, to parents who are unable to bear the shame of their situation and desperate for help from the government; 156 days later, Gerhard will become the first of thousands murdered by the Nazi regime’s Action T4 ‘mercy killings.’ In the present day, an unnamed couple known here as He and She are expecting their first child,  only to learn from a fetal test that something about the pregnancy is abnormal.

He and She have the choice to end the pregnancy, but must face difficult questions. How is a ‘sorting society’ really any different from T4?

In this staged reading at Scandinavia House, Lisa Bearpark stars as She with Albert Bendix as He, and Kwasi Osei reading stage directions. Written by Kristofer Blindheim Grønskag, the play is translated by Neil Howard and directed by Zishan Ugurlu.

Presented in arrangement with Teaterforlaget Songbird AS.