About the Show

La MaMa presents a drama about Libyan Jews during WWII that explores a cultural narrative that is conspicuously absent from prevalent stories of the Holocaust.

'Benghazi–Bergen-Belsen' is an original play set in the '40s based on the novel of the same name by Yossi Sucary. Silvana Hajaj is an ambitious young Jewish feminist from Benghazi, Libya. She is transported with her family to Germany's Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. There she meets Rebecca, a young Dutch Jew, and the play tracks their encounter, which is layered with cultural and sexual tensions. By citing the marginalized racial politics of the Holocaust, the show urges a reconsidering of both historical and contemporary religious, cultural, and racial oppression and violence.

Critic Reviews (2)

“‘Benghazi Bergen-Belsen’ takes on some of the heaviest possible topics with a delicate balance, simultaneously poetic and devastating…The scenes between Silvana and Rebecca are breathtaking…Butcher and Azrielant, both admirable performers, pull the audience's heart strings with their vulnerability and courage…The deeply personal tale of a young woman's Holocaust journey will leave you enthralled with the beauty of the survivors' love, their strength, and their unsurmountable pain."
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"The play is well constructed and staged, though at times the direction by Michal Gamily is a bit amateurish, but overall it was well executed thanks to the touching performance of Lilly Leah Azrielant as Rebecca and Mohammad Bakri as Rebecca’s Father...Lahav Timor’s take is powerful and very well articulated. The play manages to grasp your full attention, until the very end. Unfortunately the show resolves in the last five minutes and this feels a bit chaotic."
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Trailer

Creative team