The Banality of Evil: Hannah Arendt, France 1940 Tickets and Dates

Arcola Theatre, London

More Information about The Banality of Evil: Hannah Arendt, France 1940

Important Information

Age Recommendation 16 and over
Performance Dates 7 Oct - 7 Nov 2026
Performance Times Mon - Sat 7.30pm, Sat 3pm
Content Warning TBC
Run time 90 mins (no interval)
 

About The Banality of Evil: Hanna Arendt, France, 1940

In May 1940, three German Jewish women are arrested in France – Hannah Arendt, who would become one of the 20th century’s most influential political theorists, the artist Charlotte Salomon, and the Communist schoolgirl Eva Daube. 

Branded “Undesirables” and transported to Camp Gurs, they find themselves among thousands of prisoners held by the state that once promised them refuge. As German forces advance, each woman must confront an impossible choice: stay and hope for liberation, or risk her life to escape into a dangerous and unknown future.

Blending satire, physical theatre and cabaret, The Banality of Evil draws on archival research and testimony to reveal forgotten histories of women caught between exile, imprisonment and survival. At its centre is a pivotal moment in the life of 33 year-old Hannah Arendt that would later inform her writing on power and human rights.

A world premiere from writer and director Julia Pascal (Blueprint Medea; Crossing Jerusalem).