Arcola Theatre
Playing until 1st March 2025
Photo credit: Lidia Crisafulli
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Glimpsing into the real-life trauma of Miriam Freedman, a holocaust survivor, As Long As We Are Breathing immerses us into the devastating circumstances Miriam’s family lived through and how, through Sufism teachings, forgave those who inflicted all the pain and suffering on her family.
Caroline Gruber, in the role of elderly Miriam and narrator of the story, takes the audience through Miriam’s journey before, during and after the Holocaust. The script is nuanced, poignant and the immersiveness of the piece is enhanced by Zoe Goriely, playin the role of young Miriam, or Eva as she was known then. Diane Samuels’s script and Ben Caplan’s direction create a portrayal of Eva’s physical and mental states during the course of the story, highlighting the anxiousness and pain Eva had to go through as a result of severe discrimination and the breakup of her family to in an effort to keep each other safe. For Eva, even things as simple as having friends her own age is denied due to the colour of her eyes, and it is simply heart wrenching to watch a child to try to wash her eyes repeatedly in the hope that they will turn blue.
While Gruber controls the pacing of the story through words, Goriely draws the audience in through movements designed by Jasmin Colangelo. Goriely demonstrates both physical discomfort as she cramps into tight spaces to avoid the detection of German soldiers and running with excitement when she has the ability to do, yearning to become an athlete when the Holocaust was finally over. This aspect works wonderfully on a small stage, almost as if Eva is physically restrained to go any further and there is not enough space in the world for her to express her desire for freedom. However, despite this, additional yoga poses and practices could have enhanced, particularly in the lead up to the finale and how that, combined with Sufism teachings, played a vital role in changing Miriam/Eva’s perspectives on forgiveness, particularly on the young generation of Germans that played no role in her family’s suffering.
A significant component of this experience comes in the form of sounds. Matthew James Hinchliffe, playing multiple instruments during the course of the show, complements Gruber and Goriely’s performance, particularly in relation to the mental state of Miriam/Eva. The most significant is perhaps the creation of breathing through a clarinet, a vital part of yoga, a practice Miriam had taken up later in her life. The breathing keeps Miriam/Eva grounded, and its pacing, how they accelerate and slow down, reflect their anxiety and mentality.
In the backdrop of the stage, we see flow of fabrics with photos, and also where photos of the people Miriam/Eva had encountered during her childhood are projected onto. This is a wonderful tribute to the heroes that helped to shape Miriam’s growth.
As Long As We Are Breathing is truly a multi-sensory immersive experience. By actively asking the audience to close their eyes and to breath in and out in response to Gruber’s cues at the start of the play, it sets the pace and make the audience to be more aware of their breathing, elevating the effects and to a degree, synchronising the audience’s emotion with Eva’s as Gruber and Goriely retell the experience of Miriam/Eva.
Creatives
Writer: Diane Samuels
Director: Ben Caplan
Dramaturg: Titania Krimpas
Set and Costume Designer: Isabella Van Braeckel
Lighting Designer: Tom Turner
Sound Designer and Music Editor: Douglas Baker
Movement Director: Jasmin Colangelo
Graphic Design: Richard Scarborough
Producer: Sarah Lawrie
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