Discover the true story of Alfred Hitchcock’s involvement in the harrowing effort to document the unimaginable, with an exclusive staged reading starring Henry Goodman as Sidney Bernstein.

Four acclaimed actors – Henry Goodman, Kerry Shale, Geoffrey Streatfeild and Fenella Woolgar – perform a live staged reading of Martin Jameson’s powerful radio play The Film, bringing to life the extraordinary story behind one of the most important cinematic records of the Holocaust.

April 1945: a Ministry of Information film crew enters Bergen-Belsen to document atrocities many still refuse to believe. Shaken by what has been captured on camera, unit head Sidney Bernstein wrestles with how to present such suffering to the world and turns to his friend Alfred Hitchcock for guidance. Presented script-in-hand, this staged reading offers a rare chance to experience the drama through the voices of four distinguished performers whose work spans major UK stages, film, television and radio.

Following the performance, writer Martin Jameson is joined by historian Toby Haggith, Senior Curator at the Imperial War Museums and a leading authority on Holocaust film footage, and award-winning filmmaker Jane Wells – daughter of Sidney Bernstein – in conversation with documentary-maker Tim Samuels. Together they reflect on the historical record, the making of the play, and the enduring power of film to bear witness.

This event will last approximately 90 minutes, with no interval.

In memory of Adrianne & Clive Marks OBE

Henry Goodman

Henry Goodman is a multi-award-winning actor, including Olivier Awards for The Merchant of Venice and Assassins. Most recently seen in Golda and HBO’s The Regime, his stage credits include Broadway, the West End, the National Theatre, and Chichester and on screen Yes, Prime Minister, Notting Hill, Avengers: Age of Ultron and Their Finest.

Geoffrey Streatfeild

RADA-trained Geoffrey Streatfeild is a highly accomplished stage and screen actor. His recent theatre work includes leading in A School for Scandal at the RSC, A Mirror opposite Jonny Lee Miller at the Almeida and in the West End. Currently, we can see him on stage as Polonius in Hamlet at the National Theatre. His television credits include Anatomy of a Scandal, Until I Kill You, The Hollow Crown, The Thick of It, Spooks, Endeavour and Traitors, alongside film roles in Rush, Match Point, The Lady in the Van and Kinky Boots.

Fenella Woolgar

Fenella Woolgar has a long established career spanning Film, TV, Theatre and Radio. Her notable film credits include Vera, Judy, The Lady In The Van, Bright Young Things, Mr Turner and Victoria & Abdul. On the small screen, she played the iconic role of Sister Hilda in Call The Midwife as well as Agatha Christie in Doctor Who and Margaret Thatcher in The Reckoning.

On stage, she starred in Hedda Gabler (Old Vic), earning the Clarence Derwent Award, as well as Time And The Conways and The Veil both for the National and directed by Rupert Goold and Conor McPherson respectively. Other notable credits include The Slaves Of Solitude (Hampstead), Welcome Home Captain Fox (Donmar Warehouse) and Handbagged (Vaudeville).

She is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA)

Kerry Shale

Kerry Shale has been working in the UK since his arrival from Canada in 1978, appearing in the West End and at the National Theatre, The Royal Court, The Almeida and The Donmar Warehouse. He has written and performed six solo shows, all adapted from books.

Kerry’s film credits range from Yentl to Batgirl. Recent television work includes Wednesday (Netflix). He has acted in hundreds of BBC Radio productions, including his own play The Kubrick Test, featuring Henry Goodman as Stanley Kubrick.

Martin Jameson

Martin Jameson has worked for more than 30 years as a writer, director and producer on stage, TV and radio. In theatre, he has directed at venues such as The Young Vic, Nottingham and Leeds Playhouses as well as York Theatre Royal. His TV credits include nearly 50 episodes of Casualty and Holby and as many more on shows such as Emmerdale, Children’s Ward, The Bill, EastEnders and The Dumping Ground, and on radio he has over a hundred drama credits to his name, including original, series and adaptations, with many awards and nominations along the way. He is currently writing a memoir exploring a complex family connection to the darker corners of 1930s British politics.

Toby Haggith

Dr Toby Haggith is a historian who joined IWM’s Film Department in 1988. He is now a Senior Curator in the Department of Second World War and Mid-20th Century Conflict.

Jane Wells

Jane Wells is an Emmy-Award nominated filmmaker and activist. In 2007, she founded 3 Generations, a leading non-profit that documents stories of human rights abuses through film. She has produced and directed ground-breaking documentaries chronicling a diverse range of social issues: TRICKED, an unflinching examination of sex trafficking in the United States; The Devil Came on Horseback, chronicling the genocide in Darfur; and A Different American Dream, assessing fracking on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation.  Her most recent film, Here Lived, explores the little-known history of the Netherlands’ hidden children through Gunter Demnig’s Stolpersteine project. It is currently playing in festivals across the globe. Her projects have been featured in international film festivals, including Sundance, SXSW, Tribeca, Jerusalem, Thessaloniki, New York Jewish Film Festival, and Human Rights Watch. Her next film, A Bond of Silence, tells the story of her father, Sidney Bernstein, and his lifelong friendship with Alfred Hitchcock.

Tim Samuels

Tim Samuels is an award-winning documentary-maker and broadcaster who has reported around the world for the BBC and National Geographic TV. Tim has won three Royal Television Society awards and best documentary at the World Television Festival. He covered the October 7th attacks on the ground for The Free Press. He is the author of the best-selling book Who Stole My Spear? How to be a Man in the 21st Century..