The Investigation at Chicago Shakespeare Theater

Chicago Tribune - Recommended

"...the echoes and implications of the piece are unmistakable and profoundly moving. This is an internationalization of “The Investigation,” a 90-minute re-contextualization by people who surely have acquired the moral right to do so. It is a disturbing piece that makes you ponder anew those woefully inadequate ’60s court proceedings in terms of what was to follow in Africa and beyond. It does not diminish the Holocaust in any way. It is designed to enhance our understanding of its horrors."

Chicago Sun Times - Recommended

"...In this brilliantly "superimposed drama," the horrifying verbatim texts from the Frankfurt Auschwitz trials -- which, from 1963 to 1965, brought charges against 22 mid-level officials at the Nazis' Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp -- are acted out by seven actors from Rwanda and neighboring African countries."

Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended

"...In 1965, Peter Weiss took transcripts from the just-completed Frankfurt war crimes trials and edited them down to create a five-hour theater piece in which Nazis and their former prisoners give verbatim testimony about life--and especially, death--at Auschwitz. Nearly four decades later, Dorcy Rugamba and Isabelle Gyselinx had the idea of putting 80 minutes worth of that testimony in the mouths of Rwandan actors, as a way of contextualizing Rwanda's own genocide against its Tutsi minority."

EpochTimes - Recommended

"...Each of the seven cast members play many roles and there are times one can get confused. It is very important, in order to get the true benefit of this piece, to pay close attention to the minimal movement of the actors. In many cases, where they sit, how they lean, the taking off of a jacket or tie is the indication of the change of character. train your eyes to be able to see them clearly while also seeing the sub-titles. If you do this, you will truly enjoy another marvelous theatrical experience provided to us by the company at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre on Navy Pier."

ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended

"...As theatre, it is simple, but masterful art. The pace is quick and engaging and the subtitles are outstanding. In fact, the realization that the calm but haunting words of the dialogue have moved from their German courtroom origin through a colonial language to be spoken by Africans and ultimately rendered comprehensible to (most of) the audience in English script is a sort of assurance that another side of humanity is also yet present in the room. The World’s Stage efforts of Chicago Shakespeare Theater continue to enrich our lives and connect Chicago to the world."