THE REICHSTAG IS BURNING Will Be Shown Digitally as Part of Edinburgh Fringe

Made during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, The Reichstag Is Burning is the newest solo "tour-de-force" by Australian theatrical entrepreneurs Joanne Hartstone and Tom Kitney, and their production company: Hartstone-Kitney Productions (HKP).

The one-woman show offers a transportative trip to old-world Europe through sultry musical numbers, exceptional technical design and a story line that follows the purge on culture that heralded the rise of Nazi Germany. "Audiences will experience a night of decadent Weimar Cabaret - fusing traditional era music and reimagined modern songs in a musical explosion of counter-culture" says Hartstone.

Plans to stream this show, and HKP's entire Australian theatrical season into the August Edinburgh Fringe Festival have had to change significantly in the last few days. South Australia went into a Stage 5 lockdown in recent weeks - a swift response to a Covid-19 outbreak - causing the entire Black Box Live season to shut down. All public performances were prohibited, as was public singing and dancing. Now that restrictions have partially lifted Black Box Live is back on course to deliver an incredible digital season to the world.

The Reichstag Is Burning will still be shown as a part of this year's digital offerings at Edinburgh Fringe. The show headlined HKP's award-winning livestream season, Black Box Live, in March 2021, and had 8 livestreamed performances after extending the sold-out season three times. Footage of one show - filmed in one take in front of a live audience - will be broadcast into Hollywood in accordance with the #HFF21 #BlackBoxLiveAU season schedule. Joanne Hartstone will introduce each live session from her home in Kaurna Country, Adelaide, South Australia at 8pm Pacific Daylight Time (or 12.30pm in Adelaide, one day in the future).

Joanne Hartstone wrote this new theatrical cabaret after Covid-19 restrictions meant she had to use her other qualifications to teach history at a local high school. After teaching a class of 15 year old students about The Treaty of Versailles, the rise and fall of Weimar Republic and the frightening power-grab tactics of the Nazi Party, the parallels to modern western politics drove Hartstone's need to wield the Weimar Cabaret genre as a modern socio-political tool.

The show was designed for both live and digital viewing, with director and designer Tom Kitney incorporating camera and streaming technology as another design element. Online audiences will see effects that only cameras can capture - fusing traditional live theatrical design with cutting edge technology to create a new artform of performance.

The Reichstag Is Burning won the Adelaide Critics Circle Award during Adelaide Fringe 2021 and received a swathe of 5 and 4 star reviews. In the same season, Black Box Live won the John Chataway Award for Innovation. When you see the show - you'll understand why. The Reichstag Is Burning is the ultimate night of theatre and cabaret, politics and history, in a spectacular feast for the senses.

This project is supported by the Department of the Premier and Cabinet through Arts South Australia and the Adelaide Fringe.

Learn more at http://hff21.co/7147.

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