A Season of Yiddish Theatre: Secrets of the London Yiddish Stage

The University College London, the Yiddish Café Trust and JW3 are thrilled to present a season of Yiddish theatre at JW3. The diverse performances include an evening devoted to the London Yiddish stage, a staged reading of a classic play, a Yiddish theatre workshop and the premiere of a modernist masterpiece (translated into English by Sonia Gollance).

Series funded in part by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), part of UK Research and Innovation.

Please note that no knowledge of Yiddish is required, since either the Yiddish will be accompanied by English translations, or English translations will be used in the performances.

With its entertaining mix of readings from one-act plays, sketches, and songs from London’s immigrant East End, you won't want to miss this!

See London’s East End through a new lens, from love affairs in Victoria Park to haggling about voting in the 1912 British election. From escaping the Russian draft of the 1850s to cheeky parodies of the British Music Hall.

The evening will include excerpts in Yiddish from the Merchant of Venice and the King of Lampedusa, with subtitled translation and all-join-in songs from the band Katsha’nes.

A talented troupe of actors and musicians, including well-known writer, director, comedian and actor David Schneider and celebrated New York Yiddish actor Shane Baker, are brought together for this entertaining and thought-provoking performance, directed by Yiddish scholar and performer Vivi Lachs.

You’ll get the sense of the history and atmosphere of London’s vibrant Jewish immigrant theatre in English and Yiddish, and cry, sing, laugh and heckle!

No Yiddish knowledge necessary.