CULTURE
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Dear Jack, Dear Louise ★★★★★ — Jewish Renaissance
At the play’s London premiere at the Arcola Theatre, the staging is a triumph that draws in the audience from the getgo. Designer Robert Innes Hopkins gives each protagonist one half of the stage to represent their ‘world’. Jack has a utilitarian army desk, Louise a showy quill pen with which she makes dramatic flourishes in the air. While sharing…
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Winter reads — Jewish Renaissance
Daybreak in Gaza: Stories of Palestinian Lives and Culture edited by Mahmoud Muna and Matthew Teller (Saqi, £14.99) Jewish journalist Matthew Teller hooks up with Mahmoud Muna, a Palestinian bookseller in Jerusalem, to illuminate Gaza’s vast cultural heritage. Through essays, poems and artwork, Palestinian creatives reflect on their lives under Israeli bombardment, as well as on the territory’s culture. We…
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Marty Supreme ★★★★ — Jewish Renaissance
Josh Safdie’s first solo directorial offering is a powerfully frantic romp through 1950s America that’ll have you glued from start to finish Opening in a bustling shoe shop in New York City, 1952, the scene is instantly set for Josh Safdie’s latest offering – the first since he and his co-director brother Benny decided to go their separate ways in…
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JR’s trip to Yentl — Jewish Renaissance
At the post-show discussion, Abrahams was joined onstage by Hearst and cast members Amy Hack (Yentl/Anshel), Genevieve Kingsford (Hodes), Ashley Margolis (Avigdor) and Evelyn Krape (The Figure and others), who is also Kadimah’s artistic director. They gave fascinating insight into the process of writing the play as well as performing it: most of the cast are not native Yiddish speakers,…
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Agnieszka Holland — Jewish Renaissance
There’s a scene where a tour guide takes a group to a restaurant called Kafka Burger, where they order the burger that the author supposedly once ate. Was this you making a point about the commercialisation of Kafka?Yeah. In Czechoslovakia he was practically unknown before World War II. He was an obscure German Jew writing some obscure German-language literature. During…
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Jewvenile ★★★★ — Jewish Renaissance
As well as passing on his survival instinct, Maier’s father gifted his son a sense of humour, albeit often dark. Working on being a good grandpa, Werner went with one of Maier’s kids to see a Spider-Man movie. Maier asked how he liked the film. “Worst experience of my life,” he said, “and I survived Nazi Germany.” At this Duchess…
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The Tasters ★★★ — Jewish Renaissance
It’s a well-made film, with strong performances and decent cinematography. Hitler’s physical absence from scenes is particularly effective. It creates a constant, looming sense of unseen oppression and dread signalled primarily through sound. The noisy cacophony of his train passing through the countryside, indicating his imminent arrival at the Wolf’s Lair. His personal chef telling an anecdote about how Hitler…
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The Holy Rosenbergs ★★ — Jewish Renaissance
While it may be relevant to today’s headlines, The Holy Rosenbergs says little topically and skimps on innovation artistically. These shortcomings are glaring, especially when compared to a gem like Nick Cassenbaum’s Revenge: After the Levoyah, the powerful satire that inspired spirited debate about activism, hypocrisy and familial duty in Jewish Britain. Or Bad Jews by Joshua Harmon, an American…
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Yentl ★★★★ — Jewish Renaissance
The curtains sweep back to reveal a stage layered to be interior and exterior at once – comprising grass, woodland, ladders and furniture – plus perfectly-placed translations of the Yiddish dialogue that shares the script with English. The narrative follows the growing intimacy between Amy Hack’s passionate and voluble Yentl and Ashley Margolis’ gallant Avigdor. Where it diverts from Singer’s…
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“Brian fancied the hell out of The Beatles” — Jewish Renaissance
Brian was discharged from the army, probably because he was gay. He went to drama school, got caught cottaging and was arrested, and kept that from his family. Then, in Liverpool, he got beaten up when he was cruising in the docks and was blackmailed. With the support of his family he took the case to the police. But to…
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