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“Will there be singing in dark times? Yes, there will be singing. About the dark times.”

This quote from Bertold Brecht (‘Svendborger Gedichte,’ 1939) points to a human need to tell stories, to make sense of our lives at all times. Theatre lends itself to telling diverse stories in times of crisis as it is a communal experience. Refugee writers and actors can articulate their own experiences, bonding audiences and communities together. 

Das Laterndl was a theatre company founded by Austrian refugees in 1939. At a time when Austria had been struck from the political map by its annexation to Nazi Germany, the existence of an Austrian theatre company was a political statement. The name Laterndl (The Little Lantern) signified a beacon of hope in the darkness. The actors wanted to give the wider refugee community hope and belief in the future; contribute to the fight for a free and independent Austria; and enable them to reach out and share stories with their British hosts. Perhaps, just as important, was an unspoken hope that theatre would bring a sense of agency and purpose to their life in exile. 

During the six years of its existence the theatre staged over 30 productions. In the first years, political cabaret shows, in which short dramatic sketches alternated with songs, dominated the repertoire. British theatre critics who attended the opening night of the first production in June 1939 were full of praise. The Times commented that the production “reflects the grim present and is yet delightfully informed with traditional Viennese gaiety”. At the time, political cabaret was a genuinely new type of entertainment in ������Ƶ.

Many of the sketches and songs were inspired by the experience of exile, such as Bow Street, set in the immigration court in ������Ƶ. It movingly touches on the various challenges refugees have always faced: bureaucracy, insecurity and loss of status. As the situation of the war changed there was pressure to produce more political material. United by their anti-fascist stance, Laterndl artists nevertheless held a wide range of political viewpoints and they disagreed about the role theatre should play.

Particular controversy centred around Franz Hartl's short play 'Brennende Erde' (Burning ground) performed in February 1942. Hartl’s brutally realistic sketch about the Eastern Front, heightened by its juxtaposition with comic sketches and songs, polarised opinion between those who felt exile theatre should offer an escape from the grim reality of war, and those who thought it should seek to engage with that reality. 

As the news from the continent became ever more harrowing, cabaret sketches became more difficult to write and from 1942 longer plays dominated the output. The selection of plays was not narrowly prescriptive and did not seek to enact a party-political line. The Laterndl’s political message was demonstrated by performing authors in exile or authors banned under the Nazis. The Laterndl’s repertoire during its final year was conceived to re-introduce Austrian exiles to their literary heritage. It also had an ideologically more ambitious aim: to propose a new canon of Austrian dramatic literature suitable for performance in a post-war democratic Austria.

The Research Centre for German and Austrian Exiles Studies at the Institute for Languages, Cultures and Societies has created an online exhibition about an exile theatre during World War 2 which will go live on Monday 17 June, during Refugee Week. Based on at the ������Ƶ, the exhibition pieces together our records and other sources to weave together the unique story of this theatre.

Everyone is welcome and encouraged to view records from the archives at Senate House Library. Further resources are available on the website of the , including information on publications, events, and podcasts.

By Katharina Hubschmann, Project Archivist, Institute of Languages, Cultures and Societies (SoAS). More information about the online exhibition can be found at: