The title of this play comes from the religious concept of repairing or rebuilding the world in Judaism, although you’re never sure if that’s ironic. What is clear is the desperately topical nature of playwright Teunkie Van Der Sluijs’ debut, with its culture wars, identity politics and, at its core, a debate about who we choose to commemorate and why.
An up-and-coming MP, Steve Alexander (Jake Fairbrother), is campaigning at a proposed Holocaust memorial near Parliament Square in the hope of winning voters and rehabilitating his party against accusations of anti-Semitism (the Labor Party is never mentioned by name).
His researcher Dan (Luke Thompson) – a classy guy with an irritating habit of saying “touché” a lot – meets with influential Jewish blogger Leah (Debbie Korley) to get her campaign support, but nearly spoils the deal when he mistakes her for someone who appeared at the “knife crime meeting” because she happens to be both black and Jewish. A local woman (Diana Quick) occasionally shows up to protest the planned memorial, insisting she’s “not bigoted” but questioning why a memorial to Jewish victims should be in her local park. The Holocaust, she says, represents Europe’s war – and guilt – not Britain’s.
The play—one of three winners of the Originals Theater Company’s Originals Playwriting Award—addresses the intersections of black and Jewish identity, as well as the interface between true memory and the co-opting of causes as “prestige projects.” Van Der Sluijs has a genuine desire to explore ideas below the surface and shows promise as an incisive political dramatist with an eloquent flair.
Staged as an online reading under the direction of Michael Boyd, the acting is limited by the form and static nature of the play: the drama lies not in character or plot, but in the discussion of ideas. So it’s an achievement that’s so engaging and never feels inert. There’s a nice, sparkly response between Leah and Dan and you’ll want more, along with the intellectual tennis. Dan reveals himself as a thoroughly undesirable character whose “recognition” of his white, male privilege is rash, expeditious, perhaps even cynical. Leah seems to see through this, so it’s unconvincing when the pair begin a romance – and one that has little bearing on the drama or its outcome.
The performances are robust, even with some moments of slight pause, and Leah delivers a powerful speech at the end that pulls the rug out from under the characters’ feet and leaves us weighing her words as well.
Available online until July 21, 2023
