New drama Remembrance Day takes an unflinching look at the fight for the political soul of Latvia.

Remembrance Day asks ‘Can you be a hero if you fought for Nazi Germany?’

The Latvians who fought for the Third Reich and halted the Red Army parade as heroes every year through the streets of Riga. As a growing number of young Russians campaign to halt the fascist march, their Latvian counterparts join the veterans in commemoration. When teenager Anya becomes a political activist, her father’s attempts to calm the situation stirs up a storm of extremist patriotism.

Remembrance Day writer Aleksey Scherbak lives in Latvia and is the author of 11 plays which have been performed in Belarus, Latvia, Russia and Sweden. He developed this play as part of Royal Court’s Moscow workshops in 2008-2009.

Michael Longhurst, who directs Remembrance Day, has previsouly directed On The Beach for the Bush theatre and Dirty Butterfly at the Young Vic.

Remembrance Day is presented as part of the International Playwrights Season: A Genesis Foundation Project.

For more about Remembrance Day at the Royal Court read the First Night Feature.