CULTURE
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The Commandant’s Shadow ★★★★★ — Jewish Renaissance
An extraordinary film of truth and reconciliation from director Daniela Volker that was highly deserving of this year’s Yad Vashem Award for outstanding Holocaust-related documentary The Commandant’s Shadow is a remarkable documentary that brings together the son and grandson of Rudolf Höss, the commandant of Auschwitz, with survivor Anita Lasker-Wallfisch and her daughter Maya. Jonathan Glazer’s film The Zone of…
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The Worst Jew ★★★★ — Jewish Renaissance
The quick-witted Brit takes audiences on a personal journey via identity, self-discovery and a very un-PC pudding In the mid-2020s, Jewish actor and comedian David Ellis auditioned for Joshua Harmon’s soon-to-be-hit play Bad Jews. He didn’t get the part, but questioning the reasons why led him to this very stage in a room in Edinburgh, which looks like a budget…
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After the Levoyah ★★★★★ — Jewish Renaissance
Acclaimed playwright Nick Cassenbaum presents an astounding new piece of theatre Twins Dan and Lauren (“Not identical, obviously”) sit either side of a lace cloth-covered dining table. They’re both dressed in black and wear stern expressions on their faces. It’s an odd but arresting sight to behold as the sold-out audience filters into Summerhall’s old operating theatre. We soon discover…
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Between the Temples ★★★★ — Jewish Renaissance
Between the Temples is, at its core, a film that questions the essence of Judaism. Is it a rules-based religion, built on doctrine? Or is it something more flexible, more musical, based on faith, nature and human emotions? Interestingly, the character who espouses the orthodox viewpoint most fervently is one of Ben’s mothers, Judith, a convert to Judaism. The film…
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Cuddle Slut ★★★ — Jewish Renaissance
A sincere yet amusing take on the somewhat needy nature of humanity It’s a quiet Tuesday night at the Fringe and there are only two of us in the stuffy upstairs room at The Counting House. Tough crowd doesn’t even begin to cut it. Thankfully two more stragglers wander in, but not until Henry Ginsberg is half way through his…
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Jew-O-Rama ★★★★ — Jewish Renaissance
Not sure what comedians to see at this year’s Fringe? This showcase provides a satisfying taster of the Jewish (and Jew-ish) acts performing For a show that’s been running at the Fringe for the past eight years, you’d think it’d start getting a bit old by now. Far from it. The award-winning Jew-O-Rama maintains its freshness thanks to a rotating…
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Rebels and Patriots ★★★★★ — Jewish Renaissance
A powerful, hard-hitting drama that tells the vital story of the affect of the IDF on young minds Upon entering the dimly lit, intimate theatre room at Pleasance Courtyard, each member of the audience is handed a slip of paper and a pen. We’re asked to write down one thing we know about the Israel/Palestine conflict. At the end, we’ll…
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A Chip off the Gold Block ★★★★ — Jewish Renaissance
A fun debut show from the American expat comic Hailing from New Jersey, Jewish comedian Leslie Gold now resides in the UK. In fact, she’s been here so long that when she first moved, “YouTube didn’t exist, Jimmy Saville was still a national treasure and everyone thought George W Bush was going to be the dumbest US president”. This snappy…
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A new international theatre performance — Jewish Renaissance
Good Chance and Gecko present a new public production that highlights the plight of child refugees with performances around the globe The Kindertransport may be etched in history but, 85 years on, children around the world are still being forced out of their homes due to conflict. Highlighting this sad reality are theatre companies Good Chance (creators of The Walk…
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Books in brief: Summer reads
Your quest for a good summer read ends here. Danielle Goldstein picks the best books of the season Simone Weil: A Life in LettersEdited by Robert Chenavier & André A Devaux (Bellknap Press of Harvard University Press, £31.95) This is the first English translation of the complete letters of the Parisian philosopher, mystic and freedom fighter Simone Weil. The correspondence,…
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