Discovering and Documenting England’s Lost Jews is researching and celebrating Sephardi Jews in England. In July 2020 Pascal Theatre will be producing an Education Pack, Documentary and ONE LOST STONE – is a multi-media online resource inspired by Sephardi heritage in England.
Click here to visit the Discovering and Documenting England’s Lost Jews website
Are you curious? Are you well organised? Are you interested in undertaking research? Would you like to contribute to our project?
Discovering & Documenting England’s Lost Jews delves into the heritage of the Sephardim who have settled in this country since the 17th century. A vital part of our project focuses on researching aspects of this exciting history. We will be looking into key political events of an English state turned upside down by Oliver Cromwell at a time of fervent religious debate.
Questions we will ask are what was it like to be a Sephardi Jew – secretly or openly – in a country that had known no Jews for centuries? What did the Jews find in England? What did the English make of the Jews who arrived? What did the Jews bring with them to the host society? What language did the Jews speak when they fled persecution by the Catholic Inquisition? And we need your help to find the answers.
We will explore how the Jewish communities, who trickled in to England, gradually led to their acceptance as citizens. Elements of our research will be fed in to our site-specific performance One Lost Stone on 22 September at Novo Cemetery. Our discoveries will also inform our programme of educational workshops.
Our drama workshop at Bevis Marks Synagogue in February 2019 exploring the English history taught in many schools and the significant dates and events included in historical timelines.
Eight historical moments are key to our research:
If you are interested in volunteering or would like to know more about this, please contact Stéphane Goldstein, at stephane@lostjews.org.uk.
The world premiere
Tuesday, 21 May – Saturday, 8 June 2019.
“If I am a virgin. If the enemy catch me. You know what they will do…”
Kurdish freedom fighter Medea escapes the Turkish military and arrives at UK Border Control on a forged passport. Slipping through immigration, Medea discovers how to exist on the margins of London life. Working illegally as a cleaner in a gym, she meets Jason-Mohammed, the son of Iraqi immigrants. Their attraction results in the birth of twin boys. Medea believes that she has finally found a new home, a new family and a new life.
But when Jason-Mohammed’s father decides that his son must marry Glauke, an Iraqi cousin, Medea realises that she will lose both her sons and her safe haven in the UK.
As her whole world falls apart, she is forced to accept that she has nothing to lose by revenging herself – destroying the lives who those who have betrayed her and keeping her sons’ spirits with her forever…
Based on interviews with Kurdish fighters living in the UK, and written and directed by the first woman ever to direct at the National Theatre, Blueprint Medea is an award-winning new drama loosely inspired by Euripides’ Medea, which connects the classical to the contemporary to explore eternal questions of passion, war, cultural identity, women’s freedom, sex, family and love.
Tuesday to Saturday Evenings at 7.30pm.
Saturday and Sunday matinees at 3.00pm.
Finborough Theatre
118 Finborough Road
London
SW10 9ED
Written and Directed by Julia Pascal
Designed by Kati Hind
Presented by Pascal Theatre Company in association with Neil McPherson for the Finborough Theatre.
Sponsored by
Actors : Amanda Maud, Ruth D’Silva, Tiran Aakel, Shaniaz Hama Ali, Max Rinehart.
Designer : Kati Hind.
Video & Photos : Yaron Lapid
A word from Julia Pascal, Artistic Director of Pascal Theatre Company:
I am delighted to announce that Pascal Theatre Company has been successful in securing funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund for our new project:
DISCOVERING AND DOCUMENTING ENGLAND’S LOST JEWS
I am a playwright and theatre director who is fascinated by how we view national and international narratives about ourselves and our family histories.
Sephardi Jews left Spain and Portugal to find refuge around the Mediterranean basin, including in the Ottoman Empire. They settled and lived for centuries in the countries we now know as Morocco, Algeria, Italy, Turkey, Greece, Serbia, Bosnia and Bulgaria. Most of them absorbed the local culture and lived with a double heritage.
Part of the excitement of our journey is learning about how these different waves of displacement influenced English life over the centuries and also today. This includes the experience of Jews who came from Arab countries where many lived peacefully alongside Muslims. As well as examining the Cromwellian and post Republican English history, the project will look at new immigrants – Jews arriving with elements of Arabic cultures in their histories.
I invite you to come with us.
There are many ways in which you can get involved:
On the 20th, 27th January and 3rd February we are running free morning drama workshops at Bevis Marks synagogue exploring three different aspects of Sephardi history and culture. The workshops include a tour of the synagogue. You can find out more information and book your tickets on our workshop page. Tickets are limited so book quickly.
We will also be looking for volunteers to help us document Sephardi oral histories and to participate in a site-specific public installation at the Novo Cemetery, London. This installation will be the premiere of a new work written by me and others involved in the initiative as a response to the stories and histories we’ve uncovered. Sign up to our mailing list to ensure you’re first with the news on how to get involved.
During our September installation, we are inviting four speakers to explore their varied experience of this little known history.
For more information visit our website: www.lostjews.org.uk, sign up to the mailing list, follow us on social media and through #LostJews, or contact Pascal Theatre Company on pascaltheatrecompany@gmail.com.
I look forward to sharing what we uncover.
Julia
Welcome to an eight part interview series featuring the cast members of Crossing Jerusalem. Check back daily for the next installment.
Introduce yourself and tell us about your character in Crossing Jerusalem.
My name is Waleed Elgadi and I play Yusuf Khallilin Crossing Jerusalem.
To describe him he is the acting patriarch of the Khallil family. He is the only source of income for the family as his father is sick and elderly, and he tries to be the guiding figure for his younger brother. As the play progresses, Yusuf discovers that the other family in the play were the employers of his father when he was a young child. He’s quite an aspirational person. He wants to be educated. He wants his brother, Sharif, to be educated. Yusuf has street smarts but has decided not to go down the same route as his brother. He is perhaps jaded by all the death he has seen and has decided to play the role of the dutiful son. He therefore does things very much by the book and can sometimes see the world only in black or white. He doesn’t see violence or conflict as a solution to his living situation.
Besides being the eldest of 5 siblings, there is a 14 year age gap between your character and Sharif. What kind of strain does that put on the relationship between the brothers?
I think Sharif, being the baby of the family, does adopt him as a father figure. One of the great tragedies for these two is that Yusuf takes the stance of an authoritative figure instead of being a friend to his younger brother. He tries too hard to be the father, mother, everything for Sharif and consequently comes off as ancient in Sharif’s eyes. With Sharif full of the anger or hot headedness of youth Yusuf becomes a stereotype to him, someone he can’t relate to.
How are rehearsals going so far?
It’s been a really fun process so far. Everything’s been going very well, I don’t want to jinx it! Its a luxury having a director that’s also the writer in the room. Often, when the writer isn’t present, you’re scared as an actor to change the words because you don’t want to cause offense. We can discuss topics, the process is open and free and we’re allowed to experiment. From the table read it was obvious that we were in a good place. Everyone came with a solid bag of tricks and knew what they were doing and had a good idea of who the characters are. I think Julia Pascal has a great cast but then again I’m biased!
The big question, why should people come see Crossing Jerusalem?
You should come because it’s more than a piece of theatre about the Israeli – Palestinian conflict. It’s about families, about dysfunction, about how one lives within the backdrop of this conflict. It’s a great piece of drama but it also has some comedic parts to it. There are a couple of characters that are very funny and we’ll have some laugh out loud moments throughout the piece. But you should come see it because it’s a really good piece of writing. It’s a passionate play which is quite indicative of the region.
Crossing Jerusalem – Written and Directed by Julia Pascal
Synopsis: Set during the 2002 intifada, and just before the invasion of Iraq, Crossing Jerusalem is a potent and dynamic exploration of the theatre of war. The play describes 24 hours in the life of an Israeli family who cross Jerusalem to eat in an Arab village. In the course of a single day Arab and Jewish histories burst into the present in the most politically tense city in the world.
Venue & Address: Park Theatre, Clifton Terrace, Finsbury Park, London N4 3JP
Telephone booking number: 020 7870 6876
Booking website: www.parktheatre.co.uk
Direct link to book tickets online click here
Opening and closing dates: Dates: Tues 4 August – Sat 29 August 2015 (Preview 4th and 5th August)
Times: 7.45pm Tues – Sat / Thu & Sat Matinees 3.15pm
Prices: £12.50 Previews / £18 Full / £15 Concessions /
£12.50 Tuesdays Residents with N.London postcode or Under 25s
Welcome to an eight part interview series featuring the cast members of Crossing Jerusalem. Check back daily for the next installment.
Introduce yourself and tell us about your character in Crossing Jerusalem.
My name is Alistair Toovey and I’m playing Sharif Khallil. He is the younger brother of Yusuf. In the play we see him battling with moral issues, against his brother, and against different generations in the play about what he thinks is right and wrong.
Can you elaborate more about the generation gap between you and your brother in the play and how that affects the events of the story?
I think the generation gap isn’t an issue until the play, so before the play I don’t know whether it was too much of a problem. On this day, when the play takes place over 24 hours, it suddenly is an issue since his brother can’t understand. He’s not one of the guys, one of the kids, not on the streets; you don’t know what it’s like because Yusuf is old. I say to Sammy, the restaurant owner, “You’re old, you’re wrinkled, and my friend that just died will never grow old enough to grow a beard. How can you possibly understand?” It’s his naivetivity and his tragedy.
Can you relate to your character at all?
Yeah. Maybe as a teenager around 16, hearing advice from older people and just not taking it in. With it going way over your head because you just don’t think they understand, but they have been in the same or similar situation.
How are rehearsals going with Julia Pascal so far?
She’s really great. Julia is the writer and director. It’s a great mix. I love digging into the text and finding as much as I can, and even when you get to a point where you’re stuck, it’s a gift to be able to turn to her and ask, “What were you thinking at this point? Am I on the right track of discovering something?” She can point you on the right track. It’s great.
Why should people see Crossing Jerusalem?
People should see Crossing Jerusalem because it’s rare that you find a piece that was written in 2002 that’s even more important and prevalent today than it was then. Maybe not more important but nothing has changed. If not, things have gotten worse. This play doesn’t pick sides. There’s no ‘Pro’ this side or that, or in a religious context, it’s a completely even debate. It’s fascinating and enlightening.
Crossing Jerusalem – Written and Directed by Julia Pascal
Synopsis: Set during the 2002 intifada, and just before the invasion of Iraq, Crossing Jerusalem is a potent and dynamic exploration of the theatre of war. The play describes 24 hours in the life of an Israeli family who cross Jerusalem to eat in an Arab village. In the course of a single day Arab and Jewish histories burst into the present in the most politically tense city in the world.
Venue & Address: Park Theatre, Clifton Terrace, Finsbury Park, London N4 3JP
Telephone booking number: 020 7870 6876
Booking website: www.parktheatre.co.uk
Direct link to book tickets online click here
Opening and closing dates: Dates: Tues 4 August – Sat 29 August 2015 (Preview 4th and 5th August)
Times: 7.45pm Tues – Sat / Thu & Sat Matinees 3.15pm
Prices: £12.50 Previews / £18 Full / £15 Concessions /
£12.50 Tuesdays Residents with N.London postcode or Under 25s
Ladies and gentlemen, the cast of Crossing Jerusalem. Check back daily for a different featured profile of each cast member, leading up to the first night of previews at Park Theatre on Tuesday, August 4th.
For tickets and information:
https://www.parktheatre.co.uk/whats-on/crossing-jerusalem
Below is the full cast.
Park Theatre, Clifton Terrace, Finsbury Park, London N4 3JP
Previews: 4 Aug 2015
Press Night: 5 Aug 2015 (7pm)
Plays until: 29 Aug 2015
Performances
Tue – Sat Evenings 19.45
Thu & Sat Matinees 15.15
Jerusalem at the height of the last intifada. A wife wants to celebrate her 30th birthday. A husband does not want to have a son. A businesswoman wants to sell an apartment block. A daughter wants to shock her mother. A brother wants to kill soldiers. A soldier wants to stop soldiering. Israeli Jews, Arabs and Palestians all meet on one day as bombs explode.
TICKET AND INFORMATION :
https://www.parktheatre.co.uk/whats-on/crossing-jerusalem
We are delighted to be able to bring our 5 star Edinburgh Fringe show to London, for two nights only!
St Joan
7th May 2015 to 8th May 2015 – 8.00pm
The Courtyard Theatre, Bowling Green Walk, 40 Pitfield Street, London N1 6EU
Liverpool St / Old Street / Shoreditch High St.
Price: £10, £8 Concession
Bookings & Info : www.thecourtyard.org.uk/whatson/565/st-joan
Facebook : www.facebook.com/stjoantheplay
Pascal Theatre has received a grant from Santander. The donation was provided by the Santander Foundation which offers grants to UK registered charities for projects that help disadvantaged people in local communities.
“The Santander Foundation makes hundreds of donations every year to good causes throughout the UK. Our branch is committed to playing a key part in the community and we are delighted to be supporting Pascal Theatre, and hope the donation makes a real difference to local people.”
Read The Arty Semite’s review of the Secret Listeners phase 2 event at The Jewish Museum on 20th January
World War II ‘Secret Listeners’ Revealed By Anne Joseph
http://blogs.forward.com/the-arty-semite/169885/world-war-ii-secret-listeners-revealed/#ixzz2JGhtZ2Vd
New work is happening at a site-specific performance at Trent Park on July 22.
The Secret Listeners is supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund.
It is about the German Generals who were imprisoned in Trent Park during WW2 and who were listened to by German Jewish men and women working for the British government.
Watch this space for more news.
The Dybbuk is having its US professional premiere at New York’s The Theater for the New City, 10-25 August where it will be part of the Dream Up Festival.
The performances take place at 7pm weekdays and 2pm Saturdays.
Written and Directed by Julia Pascal,
Design and Movement Direction: Thomas Kampe.
Cast:
Juliet Dante
Stefan Karsberg
Adi Lerer
Simeon Perlin
Anna Savva
