Haunted by the Holocaust, these Montreal playwrights craft ode to female friendship

Pearl Lottner Rothenbergknows what it's like to grow up the child of Jewish immigrants Holocaust survivors who didn't like to speak about what they called themilchume,the Yiddish word for war.

"Nobody used the word Holocaust,"Rothenbergtold CBC's All in a Weekend. She recalled growing up in a household where secrecy was pervasive,filled with"questions about things I've wanted to know my whole life."

Rothenbergand herartistic partner,Claudia Litvak Polachek, also a child of Jewish immigrants who came to Montreal in the 1970s, collaborated on the writing of theirnew original play, Daughters of Mile End.

"There was a very strong compulsion to write it," saidRothenberg.

ForRothenberg, the story is partly autobiographical one of the play's main characters is loosely based on her life.

Daughters of Mile Endis an exploration of the immigrant experience, but most of all it follows the evolution of a friendship between the four fictional women, all of whom are children of Holocaust survivors.

The all-female multi-generational cast of thirteen includes actors ranging in age frompre-teens to sexagenarians.

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Despite frequent references tothe Second World War, the play is actually quite light at moments, as the playwriting duo made an effort to balance the dark subject matterwith moments of humour and hope.

"Each survivor is a miracle story in and of themselves," saidRothenberg.

Polachekand Rothenberg areco-founders of the relatively new Labyrinth Stage Productions, which is putting on its second original production at Concordia's D.B. Clarke Theatrefrom April 3 to 6.

Daughters of Mile Endtakes place across 50 years in the lives of the characters, harkening back to a time before trendy coffee shops, whenMile End wasoverrun with poorimmigrant families.

"The audience, as silent witnesses, walks away feeling as if they've known these women for decades, not just a couple of hours," saidPolachek.

She said the duo wanted to create a story that spoke to universal themes of mother-daughter relationships, families changed forever by violence and the challenges that come with starting over somewhere new.

"Our play is really a window into the immigration experience," she said.