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Happy families: Ilan Goodman (left) as Liam, Ailsa Joy as Daphna, Jos Slovick as Jonah and, in the process of being throttled, Antonia Kinlay as Melody. Bad Jews
The New Alexandra Theatre
***** SO what does it mean to be Jewish in a
modern world . . . already. Is it a religion perhaps, after all Judaism is
one of the oldest monotheistic religions on earth, going back 3,500
years? Or is it perhaps more than that; a way of life,
or maybe a tradition or a history or an identity, where you come from –
like saying you are a Lancastrian? Is it a culture, or even a race? Whatever it is Joshua Harmon’s play visits the
avenues of Jewishness and indeed family in a deliciously barbed comedy
which in truth is more a drama with laughs – and lots of them – set in
the aftermath of Poppy’s funeral. Poppy was the patriarch of a successful New York
Jewish family, a holocaust survivor, the only member of his family to
come out of the death camps alive, who came to the USA penniless with
nothing but a family heirloom, a gold Chai, the Jewish symbol for life,
on a gold chain around his neck. It was a heirloom he had hidden for two
years in a concentration camp. The family have gathered, which at funerals is
not always a good thing, which means three twenty-something cousins,
Poppy’s grandchildren, are lumped together in a Manhattan studio
apartment bought for Jonah by his parents – told you the family were
successful. There is cousin Daphna, who wears her Jewishness
on her sleeve like a badge of honour, then at the other end of the scale
there is Jonah’s older brother Liam, who is Jewish by birth and not much
else if he can avoid it. And in the middle and desperate to stay out of
the bickering and verbal sparring of his brother and cousin is Jonah. Then to add to the mayhem Liam arrives back from
a skiing holiday in Aspen – too late for the funeral - with his fiancée
Melody in tow, a non-Jewish, blonde, blue-eyed, mom’s apple pie,
all-American girl with perfect teeth, unblemished skin, pleasing smile
and limited intellect. D She tells everyone she
has a boyfriend in the Israeli army, who no one has met - and is off to
live in Israel in the summer – and she wants Poppy’s Chai because of its
religious and Jewish significance. And, be warned, she is is ready to
launch into long tirades, brilliantly delivered, at the drop of a
kippah, all
delivered at machine-gun pace.
Liam you feel is probably a laid-back and oh so
cool man about town . . . except when Daphna arrives in the same town
when he becomes a gibbering wreck, thus we find him uptight and manic in
a wonderful performance from Ilan Goodman. His rant against Daphna while
she is banished to the bathroom to brush her hair, is worthy of Basil
Fawlty: oh, and, unknown to Daphna, Liam already has the Chai and is not
going to give it up. Jonah is the quiet one, and Jos Slovick manages what is a deceptively difficult role superbly. While Daphna and Liam charge around with angry speeches and diatribes, he has to melt into the background, staying out of it, his face and body language alone telling his side of the story. And it is a story we know nothing about until the final, dramatic moving moment as the lights fade and the play drifts into memory. Then there is Melody, blonde, blue-eyed and with
German ancestry which goes down well with Daphna, the UberJew as Liam
describes her. Melody, played
perfectly by Antonia Kinley, is sweet, none too bright, and is no match
for Daphna, She has a degree in opera so, naturally, Daphna gets her to
sing and her rendition of Summertime
is perhaps not quite what Mr Gershwin had in mind. Her phrasing,
intonation and exaggerated trained voice pronunciation had an . . .
individual feel about them to create a comedy highlight. One suspects
Miss Kinley must be a more than decent singer to sing badly that well,
as for Melody . . . she is merely an observer on a family battleground,
collateral damage. Despite all the squabbling and bickering though
this is not about hatred, after all the families grew up together and
just for a moment the happy times are remembered as the trio fall about
laughing reminiscing about a calamitous childhood outing to a
restaurant. This is a clash about passion, about feelings and
identity, and, perhaps most of all about grief and a lost, much loved
grandfather that all three want to remember in their own, very personal
way. It is very funny, excruciatingly so at times,
with some wonderful comic moments, yet at times is also thoughtful and
moving. Director Michael Longhurst keeps things rolling
along at a lively pace yet the cast skilfully recognise the dramatic
power of pauses, the stifling suspense of silence, all done with
terrific instinctive timing, a theatre craft you can never teach or
rehearse. Richard Kent’s excellent simple set of the
claustrophobic apartment, with a view of the Hudson from the bathroom,
and the adjoining hallway all add to the crowded intimacy. There is some
bad language and the C word is lobbed in a couple of times as a dramatic
hand grenade, but it is not gratuitous swearing and is all in the
context of this beautifully written, crafted and acted play It runs for an hour and 45 minutes without
interval – but it is so engrossing you would never know it. Quality
drama which is well worth seeing. To 07-05-15 Roger Clarke 05-16
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aphna
has a tongue which can clinically cut through and slice up any
conversation with a surgeon’s precision. She could start an argument
with an empty bucket and is beautifully played by Ailsa Joy who puts the
flesh on her character so well we actually care about her despite her
constant sniping and bickering. Behind Daphna's hard, prickly front, you
feel, is a sadness and a vulnerability.