To mark the 80th anniversary of Kristalnacht Watford Palace Theatre is staging a production of Arthur Miller's play Broken Glass.

Broken Glass tells the story of Phillip and Sylvia Gellburg who are living increasingly separate lives. Phillip is obsessed with getting ahead, in a real estate company where he is the only Jew. Sylvia is disturbed by news of Kristallnacht from Germany.  In a single night, the Nazis destroyed thousands of Jewish homes and businesses, smashing windows and burning synagogues.  Haunted by these images, she becomes ill and is unable to move. Phillip takes her to see the popular and attractive Dr Harry Hyman, whose ‘talking cure’ has unexpected consequences.

Jewish playwright Arthur Miller is considered to be one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century, famous for Death of A Salesman, A View From The Bridge, The Crucible and All My Sons.  Broken Glass was first performed in 1994 and was nominated for a Tony that same year. In 1995 it received the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play.

Director Richard Beecham said: “I think the strength of Broken Glass is that is resonates on many different levels.

"As a Jew himself, Miller is working out his own identity conflicts in this play and this seems to me to be especially resonant now at a time when identity politics and the place of minority cultures are in flux and reshaping the world around us.”

Broken Glass will play at Watford Palace Theatre from Thursday 1 – Saturday 24 March 2018.