Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story examines plight of migrants, then and now
Folk musician Ben Caplan stars as the narrator and co-wrote the songs of Hannah Moscovitch's musical play, Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story, which premiered in London this week
Francine Wolfisz is the Features Editor for Jewish News.
More than a century ago, Hannah Moscovitch’s great-grandmother, Chaya, set sail from Bucharest as a young, childless widow, intent on starting a new life in Canada.
On arrival, she was sent to Halifax’s Pier 2, the Canadian equivalent of Ellis Island, and there she met Chaim, a 19-year-old who fled Brasov following the murder of his relatives during a violent pogrom.
Their serendipitous meeting inspired playwright Moscovitch to pen Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story, which after winning critical acclaim in Canada, opened this week for a 10-day run in London.
The touching musical-play hybrid is set against edgy Klezmer-inspired compositions, which were co-written by Moscovitch’s director husband, Christian Barry, and folk musician, Ben Caplan, who also takes on the role of the “chutzpahdik” narrator.
Describing Moscovitch’s writing as “a thing of spectacular beauty”, Caplan says the story is as relevant to stories of refugees today, as it was 100 years ago.
“Three years ago, we were all affected by the image of Alan Kurdi, whose body washed up on a Turkish beach after his family escaped from Syria, as well as by the words of then Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who referred to “Old Stock Canadians” to draw distinctions with new arrivals, which I thought was just reprehensible.
“It’s so easy to refer to migrants as numbers, but it’s a completely dehumanising way to talk about people and loses the stories of those individual lives.”
Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story runs at Wilton’s Music Hall, Whitechapel, until September 28, www.wiltons.org.uk
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
