I Was A German

Aim: Berlin 1933, London 2023. Two true stories, two generations apart. Help I Was A German reach its full potential at Edinburgh Fringe!

A Jewish refugee’s journey from 1930s Berlin to wartime Britain. A granddaughter’s search for identity in post-Brexit London. 

Help bring this powerful true story to the world’s biggest theatre stage.

After a successful short run at 2023 VAULT festival London, I Was A German will be heading to one of the world's biggest platforms for independent theatre, at ZOO Southside, in the Studio daily @13.50 (1.50pm) 1-24th August (not 12th)

This is a story about resilience, identity, and the power of remembering. If you believe in independent theatre, in migrant voices, in stories that matter, please donate today.

AUDIENCE FEEDBACK (Camden Peoples Theatre work-in-progress)

• "Fantastic storytelling... best show I've seen in ages"
• "Thought-provoking, stimulating, warm, human. More of this kind of work please."
• "Extremely powerful" 

What would your support mean?

Edinburgh Fringe is a phenomenal platform for independent theatre, and offers a chance for individual, freelance artists to present their work on a world-class stage. Which is why it’s the perfect place to showcase I Was A German!

On the flipside, taking a show to the Edinburgh Fringe is EXPENSIVE – you might think a solo show would be a bargain. However, as a solo artist, the show is only possible if I assemble a crack team of talented people to make it happen, and they need to get paid.  

I have forgone my own fee for Edinburgh, but there is still an entire creative team, plus transport and accommodation costs. More info about Creative Team here: https://www.iwasagermantheplay.com/creative-team

In these final few weeks towards the Fringe, there are still many new costs to get the show to its full potential, and make the most of the incredible platform of Edinburgh Fringe . If you believe that this story of hope and tolerance should reach as many people as possible, please donate. No matter the size of the donation, it all adds up, and will help keep this show on the road!

We've offered some fun rewards, and a breakdown of what your generous donations will help support.

How will we use your donations?

As a the writer, performer, producer, and working parent-of-two, I don’t have capacity to produce a theatre show on this scale. I've teamed up with Fringe-experts Suzannah Rosenthal Productions, who are co-producing and taking on the mountain of admin with all their expertise and experience. So there are admin costs to cover their work.

Then there are costs for PR and marketing to get those bums on seats -  as one person, there’s only so much I could achieve on my own, on the Royal Mile, with a clutch of flyers! And we need to work hard to attract an audience, especially in such a competitive marketplace as the Fringe.

We’ve been lucky to have had Arts Council (ACE) funding in the past, which put I Was A German in a position to present at Fringe – as a solo artist with ambitious plans, it paid for a team of freelance artists to develop this fully realized theatre production. 

But for Edinburgh there is very little public funding available.

For EdFringe, I Was A German has been honoured to be awarded Keep It Fringe funding, which is a fantastic endorsement of the quality and ambition of the piece: and will contribute significantly to creative team wages and costs (again - no wages for me! Just the rest of the team)

 But this public funding only accounts for 10% of our overall budget.

The other 90%? Well, obviously I’m hoping for some ticket sales, but realistically, that’s where you come in!

I am looking to raise a further 20% via the support of generous people like yourself.

If you are moved by the story, you like the chutzpah of a mum of 2 side-stepping into solo theatre production like this, or if you want to support a theatre production in an environment that makes creating independent theatre incredibly difficult. Whatever your reasons, please donate to support I Was A German reach its full potential.

More about the show:

Berlin 1933: Heinz goes out to the cinema, and never comes home.

London 2023: Clare claims the German citizenship her grandad Heinz gave up. But is it hers to take?

In the shadow of Brexit, Clare Fraenkel shines a light on her grandfather's extraordinary true story - taking a journey from the Cabaret scene of 1930s Berlin, to becoming an 'enemy alien' in 1940s Britain, while trying to avoid being arrested by everyone from the Soviets to Winston Churchill along the way.

A vivid account of one Jewish refugee trying to find his way home, while his granddaughter searches for her roots.

How it all started:

Writer/Performer Clare Fraenkel: "Basically, a whole sequence of events kicked off, after Brexit. Firstly, I found out I could get a German passport, but it came with a dilemma, as my grandparents were Jewish refugees and I was essentially reclaiming the citizenship that was taken from them by the Nazis. And as both are long gone, I couldn’t ask them how they felt about it all.

Then I made a slightly incredible discovery – I found out my grandad published a book, “Farewell to Germany”, about why he never moved back home. When I read it, it blew me away. As a 3rd generation descendent of refugees my natural state had been to look forward and not focus on the past, but suddenly I had all these questions. My grandad's attitude to both Germany and Britain were more complex than I’d imagined and his story didn’t feel like anything I'd heard before. 

As an actor, my natural instinct was to weave our two stories into a play! So I Was A German gives voice to my grandad’s true refugee tale from the past, and my slightly conflicted perspective from the present. It's told in a playful way, with original music and innovative visuals, and has had incredible audience responses to the previews so far .

I think the main thing is how incredibly pertinent this story still feels – the rise of the far right and a general intolerance within political debate makes it feel an increasingly urgent perspective to share."

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 16th August 2025 at 5:07pm