We chat with father and son Jonathan and Daniel Levy, who tell us all about a new play centered around their family’s experiences in the Second World War.
Harold’s War is the remarkable true story of a boy who joined this brothers and friends in the fight against the Nazis in the Second World War. This new play, coming to East Riding Theatre in Beverley on 5th September, is based on a documentary made by Harold’s grandson Daniel, with the help of his father Jonathan, as a school project. Through the film discovered relatives involved at every major milestone, from fleeing persecution to the outbreak of hostilities; the retreat from Dunkirk, the defence of Britain and the D-Day landings; major battles, seizing scientists, and even the development of the atom bomb.
The film forms not only the inspiration for the play, but also part of its narrative as the scenes will be interspersed with clips of the film, as Jonathan told us: “Rather than a full dramatisation, what we’ll be doing is playing some clips of the initial interviews on screen. I’ll be narrating, and then we have a group of people who’ll be live reading things like letters and doing short audio dramatisations, and we’ll create the whole thing as like a recording of a radio show or podcast in front of a live audience.”
The story is very emotional and personal to Jonathan and Daniel’s family, but they have also managed to include some moments of levity in the play, as Jonathan says: “Some of the letters we have are quite powerful, so we’ve tried to create some light and shade by including some of the humorous things as well. We’ve included a story of the mother trying to go and get her son back from the barracks and leaving him an apple pie and a bit of chicken.”
When Daniel originally put together the film the play is based on, it was in 1996 for a school project entitled My Family at War, as he explains: “I was 11 years old, in the last year of primary school. It was the big school project that we had to do. The idea was to go out and get some accounts from your family members who had fought in or been a part of World War Two. I came home and asked dad if we could do something. He had a media production company at the time, and we were able to use a lot of the expertise and resources that he had.”
The film caused quite a stir at the school for its exceptional quality, but that isn’t the high of the acclaim it received. It was also sent to director Steven Spielberg, who said of it: “Astounding. An impressive work… that brings to life all those in your family who were part of the war.”
The significance of that praise didn’t really strike Daniel until he was older: “I’m probably more amazed now than I was then. We didn’t send it immediately; we waited a couple of years until when I had my Bar Mitzvah.”
Harold’s War will be showing at the East Riding Theatre on 5th September, but those who can’t make it on the day needn’t miss out, as a recording of the show will be put online after the performance.