Radici ***

The stage is set: just a solitary chair. But where is our performer? A latecomer shuffles in, hesitates, exits and then returns. It is, of course, our performer - Antonio Anzilotti De Nitto, demonstrating considerable clowning skill before he’s even reached the stage.

This is Radici (Roots), a solo production that brings to life a trio of characters, each marginalised under the Third Reich.

The first character is a homosexual, who has embraced Berlin’s thriving queer culture in the early 1930’s Weimar Republic, describing it as “paradise”. However, its ‘Golden Age’ came to a rather abrupt end following Hitler’s ascent to power in 1933. Bars and clubs were violently closed down, with homosexuals persecuted and 're-educated'. Increasingly emboldened, Nazis embarked upon a campaign of arrests and murders against sundry enemies of the state. Against this backdrop, our protagonist meets Primo, his first love. But the unashamed Primo is arrested, giving him a difficult choice.

A transformation in physicality ushers in his next character - a boxer. While boxers were cynically used for propaganda purposes, those from a marginalised background fared less well. Johann "Rukeli" Trollmann was of Roma origin. He was a champion pugilist but his title was annulled by the German Boxing Association. He is impaired by a drugged drink in his final bout. His wife and child are German and he leaves them, in the hope that they will be safer without him. Trollmann, like hundreds of thousands of his kin, was eventually murdered, in a concentration camp.

The final character is confined to an institution in Vienna, owing to a perceived psychiatric disorder. In modern parlance, the patient may be autistic, or obsessive compulsive. In the Third Reich, however, an adverse psychiatric assessment will most likely prove to be a matter of life and death.

Anzilotti De Nitto is a natural and charismatic performer. He skilfully weaves together storytelling, comedy, physical theatre and clowning. He conveys touching moments of stillness and vulnerability. Those moments in which he invokes the memory of his father, or is showing great courage and sacrifice to protect his family, are memorable.

Radici requires a little refinement, however. The final character feels insufficiently realised and needs to be either redeveloped or culled from the narrative altogether. The production would benefit from tighter direction. This was his first production of Radici in English, which of course presents challenges to the non-native speaker, but for which huge congratulations are due. The cadence of the language understandably wavered at times; without a doubt this will be finessed over time.

Despite these misgivings, Anzilotti De Nitto successfully shines a light on some of the oppressed under a totalitarian state, delivering a captivating, charismatic and engaging performance. We eagerly await his return at future international fringe festivals.