Stefan Zweig’s “The World of Yesterday": culture, chaos, cabaret!

A journey through the life of the renowned Austrian writer whose memoir captured the essence of the human experience in the early 20th century. Born to a Jewish family in Vienna, Zweig flourished during the peaceful pre-war years, before being forced into exile by the rise of Nazism. The World of Yesterday chronicled an irreversibly changing world, offering a poignant look at the fragility of civilization, and how easily we can be lost to hate. Holding a mirror to the world of today, this experimental cabaret adaptation asks us to look at our place in the continuing story.

Bringing together a diverse and multi-disciplinary group of artists, the show is led by queer Jewish theatre-maker Anya Ostrovskaia, whose unequivocally political work deals with past, present, and the threads between. Her London debut Rooms Left Behind, a collaborative theatrical installation linking the Russian Invasion of Ukraine and Hong Kong protests, was shown at LIFT Festival, VAULT Festival, and Migration Matters Festival. Her immersive installation Theatre of Gulags excavated the dark history of USSR labour camps and the theatres built inside them, winning VAULT Festival's ‘Innovation Award’ before being selected for a residency at London Performance Studios.

An enlightening and emotionally powerful experience, The World of Yesterday is a testament to the enduring power of art and culture, and the resilience of the human spirit.