Leap of faith: We must celebrate the renaissance in Jewish theatre

During a session at the last Limmud, Israeli poet Yonatan Berg exclaimed: “You British Jews talk about the theatre a lot!” It’s true – we do.

From synagogue trips to the West End through to creative local Purim spiels, we have made the stage one of our most prominent sites of cultural expression. That shouldn’t be surprising. Since we first got to these shores, Jews have been putting on plays and building Britain’s dramatic scene. But, even until recently, many theatre makers didn’t feel comfortable being ‘out’ as Jewish. Some changed their names or hid their ancestry to fit in.

There were those who made Jewish content, like Israel Zangwill’s Children of the Ghetto and Arnold Wesker’s Chicken Soup with Barley, but they knew they were producing their plays for Jewish audiences. Now, however, something is shifting. All across the British theatre scene, you can see Jews putting on plays that celebrate and grapple with their heritage.

We’ve discovered that our lives are interesting – not only to us, but to the wider British public. This year, at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, there will be 50 different Jewish productions. And always at this time of year, my brother, who lives in Edinburgh, discovers that he’s never been so popular! If you’re lucky enough to be going to the festival, check out Emma Jude Harris’s Giraffe and Halima Habil’s Baba. There’s endless entertainment in store.

Creatives are leaning into the deep local specificity of their experiences. In the past few years, there have been works exploring Jewish life in Essex, Norfolk, and Wales. The arts are a fantastic way to connect with our roots. When Emma Brand brought The Stove to Jewish communities, she helped them create their own histories through food and storytelling.

There is a huge variety of talent, too. I’ve seen explicitly Jewish drag kings, clowns, Burlesque performers, DJs, puppeteers, circus acts, stand-up comedians, storytellers, slam poets, and even, in one case, an artist who made a public performance of iron-welding.

I asked Nick Cassenbaum, writer of JW3’s pantomime for the fourth year running, what he thought about all these Jewish plays. He said: “There’s a renaissance of Diaspora Jewish work. When I started, there was next to no Jewish work. Now plays are like shuls: there are the ones you go to, and the ones you wouldn’t be seen dead at.” He is heading up to Edinburgh with another run of his hit show Bubble Schmeisis.

Too often, cynics downplay the British Jewish community’s accomplishments, or act as if we’re all cowering behind our sofas. In reality, our artists are putting out more work than ever and reaching a wider audience than ever. Jews have lived in security in Britain for more than 500 years but have never yet dared to call any era a “Golden Age”. We may look back on this period and realise we have been living in one. We have a unique culture, populated by talented people, sharing exciting stories. We should celebrate it.

Rabbi Lev Saul is at Kingston Liberal Synagogue