London festival marks 90 years since Cable Street

Marking the 90th anniversary of the Battle of  Cable Street, the Board of Deputies is staging Cable Street 90, an 11-day festival of art, music, film, performance, talks and heritage events across London, with Jewish News as media partner.

Running from 1 to 11 October, the programme spans venues across the capital, including Toynbee Hall, Wilton’s Music Hall, EartH Theatre [sic], Sandys Row Synagogue and JW3.

Among the highlights is the premiere of artist Inam Zimbalista’s Murmur Mural, a moving-image installation projected onto Toynbee Hall that transforms archive footage through the movement of vast bird murmurations to explore collective action, resistance and community.

Acclaimed band Oi Va Voi brings its distinctive fusion of Jewish and Eastern European music, contemporary songwriting and electronic influences to a special East London performance. 

On Sunday 11 October, Steven Berkoff joins the programme for a special Soho screening of his film They Shall Not Pass: The Battle of Cable Street. The screening will be followed by a conversation with the acclaimed actor, writer and director, hosted by Life magazine editor Brigit Grant.

Hosted by Trevor Phillips, Tracy-Ann Oberman, Howard Jacobson and Brigid Larmour come together for The Merchant of Cable Street. Inspired by Tracy-Ann’s acclaimed East End adaptation of The Merchant of Venice, the evening explores memory, adaptation and the continuing cultural resonance of Cable Street.

The wider programme includes Cable Street Matters, exploring the battle’s significance for British Jewish identity; a screening of the documentary Jews Defending Jews; family workshops inspired by Tanya Landman’s The Battle of Cable Street; walking tours of Shadwell, Wapping and the East End; an open house at historic Sandys Row Synagogue; and guided Jewish heritage taxi tours.

Cable Street 90 is showing at venues across London. For tickets to all events visit: https://bod.org.uk/cable-street-90