CULTURE
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Lili Ország: Wanderings / Bolyongások
An impressive retrospective of the Hungarian modernist artist in suitably stunning surrounds Lili Ország (1926-1978) was a highly intellectual modernist painter, whose primary interests were religion, faith and spiritual revelation. It’s fitting then that Wanderings / Bolyongások takes place in a deconsecrated Baroque church that’s part of the Kiscelli Museum in Budapest; fulfilling a lifelong dream that the Hungarian artist…
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Alex Waldmann — Jewish Renaissance
As he takes on the title role in Farewell Mister Haffmann, a wartime drama set in Nazi-occupied Paris, Alex Waldmann tells us how it feels to lead the popular French play Though lesser-known here, Farewell Mister Haffmann is one of France’s most successful, longest running plays. It’s won four Molière Awards and was made into a gripping, suspenseful film in…
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The Musical ★★★ — Jewish Renaissance
I originally saw the play on which this musical is based in 2022 at the Brundibár Arts Festival in Newcastle, which was both memorable and rousing. Why then did this production not have quite the same effect? Will Nunziata’s direction alongside the music and book (composer Natalie Brice, book and lyrics Brian Belding) didn’t ignite excitement, despite strong support from…
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A Knock on the Roof ★★★★
A vivid and vital account of the experience of a young Palestinian woman and her family in the recurring dangers and violence in Gaza – both now and in recent years As the audience sits in the packed auditorium waiting for the house lights to dim, we become aware of the smiling presence of a young woman alone on a…
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Adventures in Perception — Jewish Renaissance
5. Tell Me (Dis-moi) (1980) In this 46-minute documentary made for French TV on the theme of grandmothers, Akerman sits down with three Holocaust survivors to record recollections of their grandmothers and memories that depict lost worlds. There is an affecting informality to the interactions between the filmmaker and her subjects, who welcome Akerman into their Parisian homes, offer tea…
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The Passenger ★★★★ — Jewish Renaissance
Hannah Schmidt (set and costume design) uses the small intimate space of the Finborough’s auditorium ingeniously, leaving it as simply a square of red chairs, within and around which the action takes place, affording both actors and audience opportunities to engage briefly as they pass. The stations where Silbermann finds himself turned back, revealed by Mattis Larsen’s clever lighting, which…
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Learning ★★★★ — Jewish Renaissance
Another inspired idea in the writing is to have both Franco and Delvallé playing the roles of the counsellors to whom each turns as their relationship threatens to break down. It has flared into fury on Debs’ side and to Jonathan’s consternation, when he appears in tsitsit (fringed Jewish garment) and kippah. Additionally, as their respective counsellors are not Jewish,…
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September 5 ★★★★
A gripping retelling of a horrific moment in sporting history The events of the massacre at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich are well known. Eleven athletes and coaches of the Israeli Olympic team were attacked in their apartments at the Olympic Village by a Palestinian terrorist group calling themselves ‘Black September’. Two of the hostages were shot and killed…
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Meet the Artists — Jewish Renaissance
Introducing the six artists selected for JR’s inaugural Artist Development Scheme Following 7 October, JR is more committed than ever to supporting the creation of Jewish culture, as well as reporting on it. Therefore, in 2025, we’re running our Artists Development Scheme. We’re delighted to announce the six artists chosen to participate: Bruno Grad, Coral Harding, Emma Grant, Esther Gabrielle…
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The Lady who Changed Dickens’s Mind on the Jews — Jewish Renaissance
Dickens’s act of “atoning” came in literary form. His last completed novel, Our Mutual Friend (his 14th), contained the character of a “benevolent Jew”: Mr Riah. Though Dickens didn’t explicitly acknowledge the link between the creation of this character and their correspondence, Mrs Davis would lay claim to Mr Riah; and John Forster, in his biography of Dickens, and with…
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