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By a major Scottish playwright, author of THE BEAUTIFUL GEMME and WAITING FOR BABY, the premiere of . . . JOSEF by Raymond Ross Directed by  Charles Nowosielski Musical direction by  Corinne Harris  INTENSE STUDIO DRAMA, LIVE MUSIC, ARCHIVE FOOTAGE, DREAM SEQUENCES PART OF THE NEW HERITAGE OF SCOTLAND A deeply moving and theatrical portrayal of extraordinary love. With sensitively drawn characters, much humour, passion and wit , JOSEF explores issues of racism and identity in war and peace. Set in 1970s and 1980s Scotland, pre-war and wartime Poland  An alleged theft, a police interrogation and a violent robbery give rise to issues of crime and punishment set against the background of the 1980s miners' strike. JOSEF is an exploration of memory, history and dream, across a shared cultural territory which belongs to the people of Scotland and Poland, inspired by Ross' Polish father, exiled to Scotland during World War II

Josef is a Polish-Scot, a retired shopkeeper who is arrested for shoplifting. Of the two detectives who interrogate him, one has something to hide. Missing files, intrigue and mystery surround a violent robbery in the past. Partially disabled and traumatised, Josef's childhood memories are triggered: the fate of his family, his escape from Poland, meeting Bridget his Scots-born wife. Eventually hospitalised, Josef confides in a young doctor, but can she be trusted to keep his secret? Is it easier to forgive than forget? YEAR 2000 The Netherbow Arts Centre READ THE REVIEWS Jeffrey Daunton (Josef) and Douglas Russell (SS officer) YEAR 2000 The Netherbow Arts Centre Plays by Raymond Ross Raymond Ross - Biography Historical Background to the Play Corinne Harris - Biography JOSEF was written with the assistance of  a SAC Writers' Bursary awarded by the Scottish Arts Council's Drama Committee in 1998.  A dramatised, public reading at the Traverse Theatre on November 16th 1999, was funded by the Scottish Arts Council through SAC Associate Literary Director Tom McGrath, who presented the reading which was directed by Nick Bone. Back to  CHARLES EDWARD STUART: A Prince Without a Realm

Historical background to JOSEF

The play is based around the life of Raymond's father, Stefan Raszkowski (1910 -1990), a member of the Free Polish Forces (Polish RAF) whose name was changed to Ross when he naturalised as a British citizen as did many Poles who feared, after the Yalta Agreement (or Sell-Out) that they would be repatriated to Stalin's death camps. They knew who was responsible for mass graves in the forest of Katyn.

Appeasing Stalin, in July 1945 - two years to the day (July 5th 1943) when the plane carrying the leader of the Free Polish Forces, General Sikorski, mysteriously dived into the sea off Gibraltar -  the British and US governments no longer recognised the exiled Polish government in London.

Overnight the Polish forces- whose airforce alone had numbered some 17,000 men and women and whose 303 Squadron had the highest record of enemy hits during the Battle of Britain - became what one English Judge called "the largest illegal private army ever known in Britain."

A concerted racist campaign- which included not only the Communist Party (CPGB) but also Labour and the TUC - told those who had been greeted as heroes in the early years of the war "Poles Go Home" and "England for the English".

Almost a lone voice, George Orwell described this orchestrated campaign as "the contemporary equivalent of anti-semitism".

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