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Theatre review: Bad Jews

Theatre review: Bad Jews

This play, about tensions in a Jewish family is thought-provoking, and makes you appreciate being an atheist living in a country far, far away from your family. By LESLEY STONES.

At the risk of provoking a religious backlash, I have to admit I’m glad I’m not Jewish. I’m happy to be unaffiliated to any religion, but Judaism does seem to carry a particularly heavy load of history, onerous tradition and personal guilt. Just ask my Jewish friend Alan, who was the perfect date to take to Bad Jews, the play written by Joshua Harmon. And with a name like that he’s clearly writing with some authority.

The play premiered in New York, ran on London’s West End, and was picked up by The Fugard Theatre in Cape Town, and restocked with a local cast. Now it’s moved up to Sandton, where it fits right in with the predominantly white and often Jewish audience. I think they’re going to love it.

It’s not always a comfortable play to watch, because the leading character Daphna (Lara Lipschitz) is so vitriolic and sometimes outright hateful, speaking from her viewpoint as the only “good Jew” in the family. To put it bluntly, she’s a complete bitch, and jaw-droppingly rude.

She disdains her secular cousin Liam (Glen Biderman-Pam) who went skiing with his non-Jewish girlfriend instead of attending his grandfather’s funeral. Biderman-Pam is so good that his whole body conveys his tension and anger, changing the shape of his frame until he finally explodes. The clash between Daphna the devout and Liam the denier is the core fire in this piece, billed as a comedy, but so often crossing the line that it qualifies as a drama too.

Liam’s laconic and seemingly apathetic brother Jonah (Oli Booth) has few lines to say, but his facial expressions work overtime. He’s excellent as the dumfounded observer of this escalating squabble, refusing pleas from both parties to take their side.

The fourth character is Melody (Ashley de Lange) a suitably singsong character who wants everyone to be friends, and unwittingly becomes the perfect foil for Daphna’s putrid monologues. It’s unlikely that anyone would get to rant and rave without interruption in a real family for as long as these characters do, but their words flow unbridled as they tear strips off each other.

The wordy play expects concentration from its audience, but it’s so engrossing that paying attention is guaranteed. Harmon’s script is absolutely searing and the combined cast performs it brilliantly. Occasionally he has them find some commonality that lets them share a laugh, until the argument flares again.

My friend worried that I wouldn’t grasp all the nuances or understand the traditions being hailed by Daphne and flayed by Liam, but you don’t need to be Jewish to appreciate this universal – if extreme – story of family feuding.

The set design by Saul Rodomsky is perfect, presenting a small apartment that becomes claustrophobic when all four characters cram inside. It’s made smaller by a corridor outside, where characters can have a quick consultation before entering the lion’s den.

Director Greg Karvellas has done a fine job of fanning the flames yet keeping it all under control, and the pace crackles throughout. It’s an entertaining, thought provoking play that makes you realise it’s not so bad to be an atheist living in a country far, far away from your family. DM

Bad Jews runs at the Auto & General Theatre on the Square in Sandton until February 14. Tickets through Computicket.

Photos by Jesse Kramer

www.lesleystones.co.za

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