TALKING WITH ANGELS: Budapest, 1943 is a one act play adapted for the stage from the book Talking with Angels by Gitta Mallasz (Daimon Verlag, Switzerland, publisher) and performed by Shelley Mitchell. —It tells the true story of four close-knit artists in war torn Hungary, and their encounter with the miraculous.
Over a period of 17 months, Gitta Mallasz, Lili Strauss, Joseph Kreutzer and Hanna Dallos held weekly meetings every Friday afternoon. During these meetings, Hanna entered a trance state and channeled messages from four entities –four distinctly different personalities– who spoke through her and gave counsel and comfort to the quartet. In 1976, Gitta Mallasz, the only survivor of the group, turned the transcripts from these meetings into the book TALKING WITH ANGELS, which Shelley Mitchell then adapted into this critically acclaimed solo performance.
In Paris, in 2012 , Gitta Mallasz was honored as Righteous Among Nations by Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in Israel for her rescue of over 100 Hungarian Jewish women and Children.
”This play tells the story of angelic guidance received by a small group of Hungarians during the horrors of World War II. The narrator and main character, Gita Mallasz, was recognized in 2011 by Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations for having rescued over 100 Jewish women and children from almost certain death. Her portrayal by Shelley Mitchell was spellbinding and in itself an act of courage. As a consummate actor, whether Shelley played one of the four who received these instructions or one of the angels who gave them, her voice rang true.
It is heartening in these unquiet times to be reminded that every one of us can take a stand for good. There’s a saying that we have an army of angels at our command if we but ask, and the message of this play is that for this group of four, that saying bore fruit. If it happened once, who’s to say it can’t happen again? Whether or not you believe in angels, this is a compelling insight into Holocaust history not to be missed.”
- ELLEN WEINER -
HOLLYWOOD FRINGE FESTIVAL