I’m Jewish but I still converted’

When Max Olesker performed his show at Edinburgh Fringe, the last thing he expected to encounter was true love but, in a chance meeting after the show, he chatted to a girl called Eliana.

Eliana, who was also performing at the Festival, complimented Max, who is part of hit duo Max and Ivan, on his show, and in particular the Jewish jokes. They soon became a couple, and it was only when they talked about marriage that they realised the Jewish links that brought them together were going to pull them apart.

Max had been brought up as Jewish, but was not observant, whereas Eliana’s family are Orthodox.

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“As far as I was concerned I am Jewish,” says Max. “I identify as Jewish, my father is halachically Jewish, and my mother had converted. I was raised in Portsmouth and attended the shul in Hampshire.

“Eliana is Jewish, yet we were seeing the same reality from two different perspectives. Both of Eliana’s grandfathers were Holocaust survivors and there was an obligation and understanding to continue the traditions that were nearly extinguished.

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“The crux of it was that I did not want to deny that, but it was a conversational hand grenade. We were deeply in love but there was this huge obstacle to our being together and marrying.”

The couple split up while they both did a lot of soul searching.

Then the pandemic intervened, and Max stayed with Eliana’s family and experienced the warmth, the music and the traditions of Friday nights.

“I felt I had fallen down a rabbit hole. I talked to family and friends and, in the end, decided to undergo a religious conversion, which would include living with an Orthodox Jewish family and being circumcised.

“I am a performer,” says Max, who is a multi-award winning actor and comedian. “I felt that, coming out of this process, I wanted to share it in some way. I decided to put it down in words first, as a book, Making the Cut, and now I am performing my story at Edinburgh and the Soho Theatre London in my stage show of the same name.

“The conversion was a profound experience that affected me in so many different ways, both physical and emotional. It was a complex situation, and I wanted to share all the twists and turns and nuances.

“This is my first solo show, which in itself is strange for me because I am used to performing as part of a duo with Alex, and it is a very personal story.

“The conversion took three years. I learned a huge amount about Jewish practice and gained Jewish knowledge, but I also felt the sense of community and of having a social safety net. It was a privilege to witness and participate in a different kind of Jewish life.

“It was a unique experience, and I met some truly wonderful people. My host family with whom I lived with in Hendon were incredible people and, even though it is not my world, I remain in close contact with them.

Making The Cut runs 5 – 30 August at the Pleasance Dome, Edinburgh edfringe.com and 3 – 21 November at Soho Theatre sohotheatre.com