The Anne Frank Rose will flower in York

The commemorative planting of a ‘Souvenir d’Anne Frank’ rose, sent especially from Japan by Mr Kenji Yamamuro, will take place on Friday 16 March at Tower Gardens, attended by children from Knavesmire Primary School, and cast members of a new music and theatre work, SOUVENIR D’ANNE FRANK, which will be performed at York Theatre Royal, on Friday 30 and Saturday 31 March.

Years after the war, Otto Frank, Anne's father, sent a dozen 'Souvenir d'Anne Frank' commemorative rose bushes to a young Japanese girl, Michiko Otsuki, a reader of Anne's Diary in Japan.  All died but one. So, Michiko asked her uncle, Mr Yamamuro, for help.  Remembering the children he used to teach and his sadness when they were drafted so young to fight in the Second World War, Mr Yamamuro saved and grafted Anne's rose, then went on grafting more and more roses.  He sent the roses to schools all over Japan, so that children could learn about Anne's story, so they would be ready to stand up against racism and injustice, and so they would never forget.  Souvenir d'Anne Frank roses now blossom and grow in the gardens of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and every Japanese city, planted and cultivated by children - a symbol of peace and reconciliation.

The story of Anne Frank’s rose is at the heart of Ensemble’s new music and theatre work, named after the rose, which weaves Anne’s own story, told in her own words, through the haunting music of a piano trio and songs in a unique and fascinating music and theatre fusion. Performances are on 30 and 31 March 2012. Educational outreach workshops and an exhibition from Manchester’s Women Asylum Seekers Together (WAST) will accompany the performances, together with a post show discussion.

A word from Anne Frank’s cousin: “I am deeply impressed by Ensemble’s Souvenir d'Anne Frank project. It is an amazingly fascinating theatrical and musical piece which will surely influence everyone attending it in a most humanistic way, and in the ideals of my cousin Anne Frank. I wish the project all the success it deserves.”            

Friday 16 March at Tower Gardens at 10.30am