The Holy Rosenbergs: A Suburban Stand-Off on Middle East Conflict
Verdict: Suburban stand-off
Rating: A
A debate on the Middle East conflict over tea and marble cake in the front room of a suburban semi-detached house in the London borough of Edgware was never going to set the world to rights. However, Lindsay Posner's seamless revival of Ryan Craig's The Holy Rosenbergs does at least capture the moral confusion of our contemporary times. First seen at the National Theatre in 2011, this compelling play tells the story of a family of Jewish kosher caterers on the eve of a memorial service for their beloved son Danny, who has been killed in action while flying an Israeli gunship over Gaza.
Family Tensions and Community Conflicts
Dad David, portrayed by Nicholas Woodeson, is so determined to be a pillar of the community that he has erected two actual pillars on either side of his front door. His desire to see Danny honoured by his neighbours at the memorial has been dealt a significant blow by his daughter Ruth, played with forensic intensity by Dorothea Myer-Bennett. Ruth's work as a lawyer exposing Israeli war crimes has triggered bitter local protests, adding layers of tension to the family dynamic.
Craig's play boldly goes into battle on a set of carefully studied suburban chintz, creating an authentic backdrop for the unfolding drama. Also wading into the fray are a young Rabbi, the synagogue chairman, and a human rights lawyer who happens to swing by, portrayed by the always ermine Adrian Lukis. Meanwhile, a luxuriantly coiffured Tracy-Ann Oberman, as mum Lesley, lays on the nosh, providing moments of domestic normalcy amidst the chaos.
Performance Highlights and Emotional Depth
As the would-be alpha papa, Woodeson brings warmth to his fractious relationship with his youthful-looking wife, though at 76, he appears a little too senior for the role. Myer-Bennett raises the stakes as the emotionally charged Ruth, while lofty Lukis oozes condescension as Sir Stephen Crossley QC. Despite moments of sardonic mirth, the audience is left exhausted by circular arguments and competing claims of righteousness and victimhood.
That, however, is precisely Craig's point in a play that emulates Arthur Miller's classic All My Sons: internecine blether begets only anger and impotence. The Holy Rosenbergs is on at the Menier Chocolate Factory until May 2, offering a thought-provoking exploration of family, faith, and political conflict.
Yentl: A Dark Fairy Tale with Yiddish Roots
Verdict: Babs turns Grimm
Rating: A
Forget Barbra Streisand's 1983 film Yentl, which the story's author Isaac Bashevis Singer openly belittled, particularly the Hollywood ending featuring Babs crooning aboard a ship bound for America and freedom. Australia's Kadimah Yiddish Theatre's version is closer to Singer's original: a rustic folk tale that's a cross between the Brothers Grimm and a sex farce.
Gender Identity and Religious Exploration
The challenge lies in how long to hold off before revealing the identity of Yentl, played by Amy Hack, after she runs away to the men-only world of a Rabbi school or 'yeshiva'. Here, she hopes to discover 'the divine androgyny of the human soul' promised by Judaism's sacred Torah text. To avoid being rumbled, she must dodge the lustful longings of her yeshiva friend Avigdor, portrayed by Ashley Margolis, and small town beauty Hodes, played by Genevieve Kingsford.
Stylistically, Gary Abrahams' production takes us back to the East European roots of Jewish theatre. Actors speak some Yiddish with surtitles and wear white face paint in an elemental arena of wood chip, stone, and tufts of grass. Racer moments are dimly lit behind a rough muslin curtain, adding to the mystical atmosphere.
Strong Performances and Cultural Depth
Hack is driven by her childlike desire to learn while tiptoeing around religious regulations. Margolis adds a strongly carnal flavour as the priapic Avigdor, who never twigs Yentl's gender, while Kingsford brings dignity and urgency to Hodes. Evelyn Krape, as an Earth Mother chorus figure, also acts as Yentl's conscience while wearing a ram's horn headdress, lending a feel of mythological timelessness.
Always threatening to be over-blown, the production stays grounded thanks to the old-fashioned binaries of traditional kosher culture. Yentl runs at the Marylebone Theatre until April 12, offering a unique theatrical experience rooted in Yiddish tradition.
Also Playing: The Mesmerist and Manic Street Creature
The Mesmerist: A Spellbinding Magic Show
Verdict: Spellbinding
Rating: A
Who knows what's real and what's not in Rufus Hound's one-man magic show, officially a recreation of an undocumented, one-off performance of mystery and mesmerism performed at Watford's Palace Theatre by his would-be magician grandfather in 1983. The artfully amateurish spectacle includes Hound escaping from handcuffs, guessing audience secrets posted in sealed envelopes, levitating a table with the help of six volunteers, and hypnotising one member of the audience.
Hound is no slick Derren Brown, and he could do with more of a soundtrack to support a performance amiably directed by Steve Marmion. However, it's an undeniably fun evening that encourages audiences to give their critical faculties a break and get spellbound. The Mesmerist runs until March 21 at the Palace Theatre in Watford.
Manic Street Creature: A Soul-Baring Musical Journey
Verdict: Setting the house on fire
Rating: A
'I can set this house on fire,' sings Maimuna Memon's Ria, blazing with the kind of passion you might expect of a gutsy girl from the north who has come to London's happening Camden Town to make her way as a singer-songwriter. Memon proceeds to do just that, setting the theatre alight metaphorically as she relives Ria's tale with scorching, heartfelt passion.
Herself a fabulously talented Lancashire girl who has won awards for various musical-theatre performances, Memon is the heart and soul of this semi-autobiographical piece. She wrote the book and the music, narrates, and sings her folksy, poetic, intense, soul-baring ballads sensationally. Think Carole King, add many guitars and tears, and you have Manic Street Creature.
Shaped as a recording session with Ria and her band making an album, each song pushes the story forward. Ria gets the hang of Camden, falls in love with the first bloke who's nice to her, and they make sweet music together. Then Dan goes AWOL, leading to an exploration of loving a man diagnosed as bipolar. Memon's soul music could soothe even a splintered heart, making this a must-see production at the Kiln Theatre until March 28.
