Photo via Keith Pattison

“In certain situations there are only two types: those who consider themselves victims — and if you consider yourself a victim, you become a victim; and the other half — well, not half, actually very few — are observers. I was an observer.”

At the age of 17, Zdenka Fantlová was snatched from the life she knew in Czechoslovakia and thrown into the madness of World War II. In those years she would experience the greatest hardships of The Holocaust and survive the violence and cruelty of life in six different concentration camps. Her story is one of triumph and of the power of love, hope and destiny.

Jane Arnfield, with the help of director Mike Alfreds, has brought this inspiring true story to the stage. The story has been performed on stages across the world and was brought to NYU Abu Dhabi in connection with professor Carol Martin and the students of the core class, "Staging the Self."

With one woman, one chair, one costume, a single lighting setup and two sounds cues, the piece transports the audience deep into another world. Heart-wrenchingly beautiful, “The Tin Ring” is not just a story of a struggle for survival but of finding love and courage in the most unexpected places.

In the performance, Arnfield takes us on a journey through time, moving us through the Nazi’s removal of Zdenka’s father, her forceful transport in the Jewish exodus, the brutal conditions of the camps and, most surprisingly, how she fell in love. It is this tragic love story between Zdenka and Arno that threads its way through the piece and pulls on your heartstrings, revealing the beauty that can exist during such monstrosities. It is their devotion and bravery in the camps that makes their separation even more heartbreaking. In a fragile moment when Arno is forced to leave, he passes Zdenka a forged tin ring as a symbol of their love and to keep her safe. It is this tin ring that Zdenka treasures through all six concentration camps, in the hospital where she recovers and throughout her life, long after Arno passes away, and still to this day.

In a story so well-told, it is a testament to the power of the human imagination and Arnfield’s incredible performance that an empty stage can transform before your eyes. The theater space became the muddy pools of Belsen, the trembling lines of naked women waiting to be searched, the packed cargo trains of bodies and disease and even the dark cellar where lovers could sneak off for the briefest embrace. Similarly, the single chair became a ghostly figure, a camp bunk and even a shuddering collapse of violence. These images are constructed in Arnfield’s simple but potent control of gesture and body.

With a ferocious command of voice, Arnfield switches between characters and points of view with ease, allowing not only Zdenka but also several other vivid personalities to come to life on stage.

In one moment, Arnfield pointed out, past the audience, to a figure in the story, and so caught up in Zdenka’s world, almost half the audience actually turned to look. The atmosphere itself was captivated throughout the performance.

While the story is not hers, it is evident that Arnfield invests her whole heart and soul in “The Tin Ring.” Never attempting to become Zdenka, Arnfield instead uses her performance as a vessel in which to carry the profound honesty of Zdenka’s journey to others.

Vividly told and expertly executed, “The Tin Ring” is a stunning rendition of a true story that none in the audience will easily forget.