Initiative ‘provides safe place for Jewish theatre-makers’

Highgate’s Upstairs at the Gatehouse Theatre was packed with a sell-out audience for the launch of the Jewish Dramatic Association of London’s inaugural event.

The evening featured six, ten-minute Jewish themed plays, all written and performed by Jewish people,

The Jewish Dramatic Association has been created by 19-year-old Natan Paul-Collis, a young man with an ambition – namely “to provide a safe place for Jewish theatre makers in London. The theatre world is a very hard industry to succeed in,” said Natan, who lives in north-west London.

“My grandmother was an actress and used to tell me about her experiences. Post-October 7, I realised how increasingly difficult it is for Jewish actors and playwrights to showcase their work, so I decided to set up

Natan used social media to publicise his idea and held auditions to find writers and performers. Sunday’s performances were the culmination of many months of planning. Upstairs at the Gatehouse offered support by providing Natan with free hire of the theatre.

The six plays covered diverse topics. Mai Weisz’s A Trip to Heaven, exploring themes of collective trauma, survival, and cultural identity, particularly resonated with the audience. Other subjects included Elijah Lifton’s Falling Berries about an overbearing Jewish mother and Lucy Singer’s My Work Friend’s Boyfriend about a girl discovering her friend’s new boyfriend happens to be her father. My Cup Runneth Over was written by Natan, who also performed in two of the other plays.

“We were delighted to sell all the tickets. It proves that people really want to see Jewish plays in the company of other Jewish people,” said Natan.

“I now want to build on Sunday’s success and plan to hold more theatre evenings. Each time there will be new plays and I hope to create a place where London Jewish theatre makers, whatever their experience, can perform.”