About Leni’s Last Lament
The Award-winning play about Hitler’s infamous propagandist filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl
“Precisely the kind of bold, urgent work we need on our stages.”
— Jennifer Zeyl, Artistic Director, Intiman Theatre
Leni Kicks Off Intiman Theatre’s 2026 Season!
The production feels like a twisted Berlin cabaret where the cocktails are strong, the jokes are dark, and the historical baggage is downright terrifying. — outnwnews
This one-woman show doesn’t set out to provoke sympathy for the devil. …an absurdist deconstruction of fascist ideals. — The Seattle Times
The spectacle and artistry of this show perfectly befit how Leni herself would want to share – or, rather continually edit, manipulate, and desperately try to seize control over her story to a modern audience. — The Sound Onstage
Social media posts from audience members:
“One of my best theater experiences.”
“The reminder of how history repeats itself was incredibly intertwined with the story of a complex woman, despised by the world and yet also human.”
“Brava! Never felt so sucked into a performance.”
“In the end I became complicit by raising my arm in the retake of the Nuremberg event.”
We laugh, we cringe, and occasionally wonder whether we should be laughing at all. That's the brilliance of this production. — outnwnews
This is theatre that gets under your skin and leaves you looking at the present with fresh, uncomfortable eyes.
— Jennifer Zeyl, Artistic Director, Intiman Theatre, Seattle
Bring Leni to your audience!
Gil Kofman’s smart, hilarious play stars Obie winner Jodie Markell and is directed by “legendary downtown theater-maker” (Village Voice) Richard Caliban.
Leni’s Last Lament began at the United Solo Festival, winning Best Script, Actor and Direction honors. It subsequently played at the Delaware Valley Opera Center; The Invisible Dog (Brooklyn); the Edinburgh Fringe @ Assembly Hall (one of five critic’s picks out of 3,300 shows by the London Times); the Paradise Factory (NYC); the Intiman Theatre (Seattle); and in 2027, the Avignon Festival.
Framed as a macabre cabaret that takes place in an ethereal editing room, Leni attempts to re-edit her controversial Nazi past to make it more palatable. The production features a dazzling array of historic images; live music, song and dance.
PLAY LENI VIDEO TRAILER
