Edinburgh Fringe 2026
Mrs. Stern Wanders the Prussian State Library
Luna Stage, Richard Jordan Productions in association with Traverse Theatre
Genre: Drama, Historical, New Writing, Political, Theatre
Venue: Traverse Theatre
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
Chronicling the interrogation of Mrs. Stern for alleged political crimes, this show proves that having a philosophy degree is useful— and may just save your life one day.
Review
Mrs. Stern Wanders the Prussian State Library is making its European debut at the Edinburgh Fringe festival after a successful Off-Broadway run in New York and Martha’s Vineyard. It is a fictionalised depiction of the real arrest of prominent German philosopher Hannah Arendt under martial law in 1930s Germany. The whole play takes place in the prison cell of Mrs. Stern, the fictional representation of Arendt. Accused of illegal research into anti-semitism, she is interrogated by a young officer, Karl Frich, who was recently promoted to the ‘political crimes’ division of the Gestapo.
Like Mrs. Stern, the story is restricted to a single prison cell. The interrogation by Karl is the sole medium for the story to progress. Being such a dialogue-heavy premise, playwright Jenny Lyn Bader masterfully weaves in the essential information of the plot and setting into one long conversation. That in itself is impressive, but what is even more astounding is how Bader and the cast made one interrogation in one room so captivating for the entirety of 1 hour and 20 minutes.
Perhaps part of the spell-binding nature of Mrs. Stern was the natural flow of the dialogue. It was easy to lose oneself in the story when the actors bantered back and forth so smoothly. The spacing between lines, including when they overlapped or interrupted each other, gave the perfect illusion of organic conversation.
The writing of the dialogue itself not only revealed the pieces of the story’s puzzle, but also provided excellent characterisation of Karl and Mrs. Stern. Bader cleverly hints at Karl being neurodivergent-coded early in the story, highlighting a special interest in studying maps and a propensity for prescribed rules and structures, as he innocently confesses to Mrs. Stern that he is not used to having to make judgements on people’s character himself. This subtle set-up is hammered home by actor Brett Temple’s portrayal of his stiff body language and halting, formal speech pattern. This created a framework where Mrs. Stern could dominate much of the conversation.
In spite of this, Mrs. Stern is a likeable character. Highly intelligent, well-educated characters can easily come across as arrogant ‘know-it-alls,’ and internal social biases can make this even more prominent in dominant female characters. Both Bader and the actress/director, Ari Laura Kreith, did an excellent job maintaining the balance of demonstrating how intellectual and well-read Mrs. Stern is without making her condescending. Mrs. Stern spoke through philosophical topics and dodged entrapping questions with coolness, yet had just enough charming quirks to make her character come to life. Her armpit fanning and consistent chain-smoking throughout the show were subtle, delightful running gags which did not distract from the gravity of the story.
This show stands out for its professional, high-quality production. The constraints to the set and timeline bring out the very best in dialogue writing and acting. The topic is a timely reminder of a timeless lesson about the rise of fascism, but didn’t feel tedious or gloomy to watch, as Bader (and real philosopher Hannah Arendt) remind us that regimes are made up of ordinary people.
