Clemens Bechtel

On November 26, 1938, two hand grenades exploded in the performance hall of the theatre of Timișoara during a performance by the Jewish-Bucovina singer Sidy Thal and her ensemble. This anti-Semitic attack, carried out by the Iron Guard—a far-right nationalist group resulted in the deaths of four people and left seventy others injured. Despite its historical significance, this event remains little known in Timișoara, the European Capital of Culture 2023. Playwright Thomas Perle and director Clemens Bechtel, with the support of Maria Mădălina Irimia from the "Wilhelm Filderman" Center for the Study of Jewish History in Romania, researched the attack and created a documentary play based on their findings. What is true? What really happened? This production seeks to reconstruct the attack and explore the moment when anti-Semitism and fascism infiltrated everyday life in a multicultural society—ultimately leading to the ho rors of World War II and the Shoah. SIDY THAL marks the first collaboration between the German State Theatre Timișoara and the Jewish State Theatre Bucharest. A multilingual work in Yiddish, German, and Romanian, the project is part of the national cultural program Timișoara – European Capital of Culture 2023.