Star-Gazy Pie and Sauerkraut

Synopsis

A windswept Cornish cottage, where the ghosts of the past mingle with the sea air.

Maria, an elderly German émigré with a mysterious autoimmune condition, finds her carefully constructed life unravelling as memories of her role as a Nazi propaganda actress resurface. Her granddaughter Kathleen, plagued by disturbing visions, becomes increasingly obsessed with uncovering the family’s dark history. As Maria’s body rebels against an imaginary threat, the lines between past and present blur, forcing both women to confront the legacy of eugenics that haunts them.

James Stock’s Star-Gazy Pie and Sauerkraut is a haunting exploration of inherited guilt and the pursuit of human perfection. Through a blend of naturalistic dialogue and surreal flashbacks, Stock draws unsettling parallels between Nazi-era eugenics and contemporary obsessions with health and purity. The play’s Cornish setting serves as both a haven and a prison, where the characters grapple with questions of identity, belonging, and the weight of history. Star-Gazy Pie and Sauerkraut offers a powerful meditation on the dangers of ideological extremism and the complex interplay between personal and collective memory.