Extant Theatre in association with Turtle Key Arts present the 2nd UK tour of RESISTANCE

A play, in one act, followed by an epilogue, primarily set in a Gestapo interrogation room in Paris in 1943. A mystery develops from the outset: how could the arrested, blind teenager have anything to do with resistance activities against the occupying Nazi army?

Extant Theatre, tour their highly acclaimed new play Resistance nationally and internationally 21 September – 13 October 2005.

Resistance is a play that explores the extraordinary true story of Jacques Lusseyran, a blind, teenage leader within the French resistance movement of occupied Paris during WWII. In his autobiography “And There Was Light”, he tells the tale of how he was blinded in an accident at the age of 8, became a member of the French Resistance: was betrayed, captured and subsequently interrogated by Nazi SS officers, leading to his final incarceration in Buchenwald concentration camp.

Jacques manages to use his blindness as a foil, exposing the prejudices of the Nazis SS; they couldn't believe a blind man capable, and discovers, through his blindness, a deeper perceptualawareness of the world.

Resistance unfolds with a tense and exciting narrative. The action flicks between time, perceptions and perspectives to uncover the deep mystery at its heart.

it explodes into white-hot light, dark shadows, whispered secrets and mysteries … there are also moments when form and content are matched so perfectly that the sighted catch a tiny glimpse of what it must be like to be visually impaired.

Lynn Gardner The Guardian

Adapted for the stage by blind writer Maria Oshodi, Resistance uses physical theatre, experimental dance and live audio description (cleverly included within the script; no audience members have to wear headphones).