THEATRE: Maureen Lipman is mesmerising as Rose
The veteran actress shows no signs of slowing down as she takes on an epic monologue charting Jewish history in the 20th century
“A shiva is not a religious thing; it’s just Jewish,” says Rose, the elderly Jewish lady portrayed by Maureen Lipman at the Ambassadors Theatre, transferred here from Park Theatre. By the end of her 2.5 hour monologue, it would appear it’s not just Jewish either. You’ll have to go yourself to find out why, and I highly recommend that you do.
The 80-year-old Rose was born in Ukraine – “sometimes Russia, sometimes Poland”, swept up in the horrors of the Second World War and settled in Miami.
She was subject to persecution pretty early in life – “If you have your first period and your first pogrom in the same month, you can safely assume childhood is over” – but nevertheless injects her sad story with the humour and witticisms that Maureen Lipman is so adept at delivering.
She paints a vivid picture of life in the cramped Warsaw ghetto where they lived 12 to a room – “I can tell you what Hell is. It’s 11 people snoring at the same time” – and where she suffered the unimaginable horror of losing her nine-year-old daughter. Then she amuses us with her description of life in the Jewish town of Atlantic City where “the air smelled of aspirin and chicken fat and suntan oil” and no-one wants to talk about the Holocaust.
Her enthusiastic optimism about the newly founded state of Israel – “They built it with their own hands” – contrasts horribly with her disillusionment when she sees Jews with guns.
Martin Sherman’s play, first staged at the National, is nearly 25 years old but its content and observations remain uncomfortably relevant.
Rose’s liberal, tell-it-how-it is manner draws us to her as she talks about sex, pill-popping and death. Seated throughout on a hard wooden bench with water, pills and a curious cool box her only props, subtle lighting changes her only stage set and unobtrusive sound effects her only background, it is Maureen herself who brings us absolutely everything else. At 77 she’s just three years younger than the lady she portrays. Rose appears to have come to terms with not belonging anywhere. Maureen, by contrast, certainly belongs on the stage.
Rose is at Ambassadors Theatre until 18 June. www.atgtickets.com
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