Jew…ish, co-created by Poppy Damon and Saul Boyer – who also plays Max with Edie Newman as TJ – is a wacky and hilarious look at the trials and tribulations of being connected to a faith that we know will cause you problems. Max and TJ are in a hit or miss, off or on relationship and via a very funny script their bizarre and wonderful world comes at you full throttle resulting in an immediate empathy and a crush on their characters. This is a well informed look at guilt as a commodity.
Frantic and energetic this two hander also offers an insight and interesting look at the need for therapy and if it actually achieves anything; and that it takes work to make a relationship happen that can at times completely exhaust you and send you a bit crazy as the fear of commitment raises its ugly head.
Damon and Boyer have injected some political comment into the dialogue which did slightly distract from the proceedings but there was also a very clever and well written scene about the influence of elders especially when it came to the power that can come for a regular visit to the synagogue. This is a very tidy comedy, full of passion and deserves to be a hit.
My only criticism is the sexual ambiguity of the Max character is misplaced and needed to be more blatant and this would of added to the dynamic of the play. Overall a very amusing look at being Jewish and when all said and done a splendid examination of being in love and finding the redeemable qualities of another human being.
Photos by Samuel Kirkman
****
JEW…ish runs to Sunday 19 January at the King’s Head Theatre, 115 Upper Street, Islington, London N1 1QN. Box office: 010 7226 8561 kingsheadtheatre.com/whats-on/jewish/book
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