When I heard that playwright Joshua Harmon’s Bad Jews was the talk of London’s theatreland I thought I’d better check it out. For the first 15 minutes I wasn’t quite sure what all the fuss was about as I watched a couple of privileged twentysomething cousins – Daphna (Jenna Augen) and Jonah (Joe Cohen) – waking up and shooting the breeze in Jonah’s small but enviable Manhattan apartment.
They have gathered following the death of their holocaust survivor grandfather Poppy and the action soon has a reason to crank up – Liam (Ilan Goodman) pitches up from a skiing holiday with girlfriend Melody (Gina Bramhill), who is blonde and very much not kosher.
Sure enough, tensions come to the surface over a petty but significant inheritance. Poppy managed to keep a precious piece of jewellery throughout his time in the camps and Liam wants to propose to Melody using it. Passionate, vociferous Daphna, on the other hand, thinks she should have it because she is the most Jewish of the family – she has plans to go off to Israel and join the army.
From this simple premise the plot explodes, with Liam and Daphna in particular having grandstanding laugh-out-loud lines. Melody also stops the show with a musical number that is note-perfect in its intentionally off-key brilliance.
There are plenty of surprises along the way as the story moves on and strong performances throughout. Doors are slammed, revelations emerge. Long-simmering resentments come to the boil. The underlying question is what it means to be a Jew in the modern world - do you have to be observant or is being a secular Jew who never goes to the synagogue but calls themselves Jewish just as valid?
This play is already a big hit in America and there are rumblings of a transfer to a bigger theatre in London. It’s funny, but also thoughtful, insightful and provocative. You don’t have to be Jewish to appreciate Bad Jews – anyone who has ever had a family should relate to its universal themes. Though if you are Jewish you may well get a little bit more out of it.
Bad Jews is at St James Theatre until February 28. Book here.
