An Open Letter to Theatres and Theatre Makers about Jewishness
Hey theatre, we need to talk. About Jews. Specifically, about Jewish representation on stage. Yeah.
We know this’ll make some of you want to click on straight away. But give us 10 minutes of your time, and hopefully you’ll see how this can make all of us a little better and do a little better. Ready? Okay. Thank you for giving us your time, your ears, your eyes.
We’re in 2024 and luckily the theatre sector has got a little better at understanding representation. And inclusion. And diversity. We see beautiful Black stories told by the wealth of Black talent this country is lucky to have. South and East Asian narratives shared by wonderful South and East Asian actors and creatives. We see theatre makers from the Global Majority, the MENA+ community, or who are disabled, or neurodivergent, or working class, or belong to the LGBTQIA+ community – or to multiples of these – take the initiative, take the moment, and take the stage. And we love it! It betters the artform we all care about so dearly.
There sure is a lot of work still to do, to correct historic underrepresentation of all those not belonging to the dominant culture, ethnicity or beliefs. But we see progress.
So it hurts to see, when it comes to Jewish representation, that corners are still being cut. That the noble principle of “nothing about us without us” doesn’t always apply to Jews: that Jewish stories get told without Jewish people taking part in them. That Jewish characters are played by actors with no connection to Jewishness. That Jewish themes and icons get taken by non-Jews to tell the story they want to tell, while denying Jews a place in the celebration and sharing of their own culture.
Where people work, mistakes get made: oversight, misunderstandings, misrepresentation. And we’re not assuming ill intent. But even good people with best intentions can do bad – knowingly or unknowingly.
Can we look at some of the things not going well please, theatre?
We’re David’s Voice, and we’re made up of Jews and non-Jews, theatre makers, theatregoers, and theatre lovers. And we see, time and again, the following:
Jewish roles played by people with no connection to Jewishness.
We’re not saying that Jewish characters should only be performed by Jewish actors, or that all Jewish roles should be played by Jews. But more often than not, we see productions with Jewish characters yet no-one in the cast who brings lived experience of Jewishness. And that’s tricky. Because how does that production guarantee that the most fundamental part of a character – their identity and their culture – are based on truth and understanding and not on assumption and stereotype? How do you make sure that centuries of prejudice and misconceptions about Jews still ingrained in Western culture don’t go unchecked?
Jewish stories produced by creatives with no link to Jewishness.
We’re talking about shows where directors and designers and others in teams working on plays and musicals by Jews, or about Jews, or influenced by writers’ Jewishness, lack anyone with an understanding of Jewish culture, its history, or its practices. You sure don’t need to be Jewish to stage a play by a Jewish writer. Or to play a song by a Jewish composer. But if none of your creative team are Jewish, are you sure you’re able to mine that play for all its richness, to understand every nuance of that lyric, and to get each detail of that book? It would be a shame if you weren’t, because it doesn’t make productions as powerful, layered or resonant as they could be.
Jewishness and whiteness – it’s complicated!
A lot of Jews in the world identify as white. A lot of Jews don’t. The idea that all Jews are white European by default, well now, that’s simply false. It denies the existence of Black Jews, North African Jews, Levantine, Sephardic and Middle Eastern Jews, Mizrahi and Persian Jews, African Jews, (Central) Asian Jews, Latinx Jews, Balkan Jews and many more. It denies centuries-long persecution of Jews because they were not seen as white. Yeah, it’s complicated – so please do your homework. Or, you know, ask a Jew! We don’t mind you copying off our answers (we really don’t!) We do mind being omitted. Because omission is erasure. We love you getting inspired by Jewish culture and history. We’re not so keen on you taking from our culture and then leaving us out. Or leaving some of us out. Or simplifying, denying or whitewashing our existence. With our history, well, let’s say we’ve got some hang-ups about that.
That also means that if you’re monitoring for inclusion (and we’re also looking at you here, Arts Council England and government bodies and funds and trusts), please include an option for Jews to self-declare their identity. We’re not all ‘white, other.’ We’re not talking about a religious thing here, not just talking about Judaism: whether you’re practicing or not, keep kosher or can’t stand the sight of gefilte fish, go to synagogue or declare yourself an atheist – Jewishness is ethnic, it’s recorded in one’s DNA.
People Love Dead Jews.
Dara Horn, the brilliant academic couldn’t have said it better when she gave her 2021 book that title. What’s up with the weird fascination by some non-Jews with those parts of history that focus on Jews dying? If you’re only interested in Jewish stories about the Holocaust, or Pogroms, you’re ignoring a culture that’s millennia old and still living to this day. We’re getting a bit tired of Jews being vehicles for feel-good narratives about (usually white) saviours while Jews perish. We’re looking at you, Boy In The Striped Pyjamas!
Anyway, we could go on (trust us, we could!). But let’s look at where we are now. And a way forward.
First of all, we’d love you to spread the word about David’s Voice: share this open letter, sign it if you feel the theatre sector can do better in addressing the points above – it doesn’t matter if you’re Jewish or not. Whether you run a theatre, make theatre, or just go to theatre. If you want to add your support, please do! We love you for it. And we appreciate you may not agree with every point. Fair enough! Or that you’re worried that calling out is often seen as more problematic than problematic behaviour itself.
Secondly, we see some beautiful examples of Jewish stories and Jewish work being staged at the moment. But for every The Band’s Visit, there’s a Falsettos. For every Giant, a Rare Earth Mettle.
We’re calling on you, our friends and colleagues in the theatre world, to open up. So we can all celebrate what’s going well, and learn from what can be done better. So that there is meaningful and respectful inclusion of Jews in stories of and about Jews.
We’ve taken a cross-section of a half dozen of or so pieces of Jewish work and work with Jewish themes and roots that are on the stage in the summer of 2024. Inspired by the admirable and vital PullUpOrShutUp call, we’ve got some open questions and ask the theatre sector for some transparent answers.
Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre: can you tell us about the proportion of Jewish talent in your creative team and cast staging Fiddler On The Roof? We’d love to hear about the care you’re taking to embed the cast, especially non-Jews, in this iconic piece of Jewish theatre culture and… TRADITION! (see what we did there?)
The Royal Court Theatre: we’d love to hear about any steps you’ve taken to make alienated Jewish audiences return to your venue and feel welcome again after a bumpy past.
Orange Tree Theatre: we see you’re doing a new David Edgar play. Cool (lucky you!). But erm… the play is about McCarthyism and Jewish writer Arthur Miller. Can you tell us how you’re taking care over the faithful and just depiction of a dark part of American history – its wide-spread antisemitism, linked to the Red Scare – and what the Jewish representation on the creative team is for this play?
Pitlochry Festival Theatre: we see you’re doing Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. Beautiful! A story about not just one but several iconic Jewish artists. We’re sure you’re aware of the recent media outcry about the lack of Jewish talent in other productions of this musical, including the film adaptation. How have you made sure there’s meaningful Jewish representation in the cast and creative team of this production? How are Jewish artists supported to bring their whole selves to your theatre?
Almeida Theatre: You’ve got a production of Arnold Wesker’s Roots coming up! Amazing! How have you ensured meaningful Jewish representation and understanding of Jewishness in this work?
The National Theatre, The Royal Shakespeare Company and anyone else staging work based on Roald Dahl stories: let’s face it, your man’s got a problematic history. How are you facing up to Dahl’s views on Jews?
And to all of these theatres, and others, do you hear David’s Voice? Do you share our observations and are you prepared to play your part?
One last thing. We know we’re not alone. Jewishness is not interchangeable with other minorized identities, but it sure does intersect! And we see equality and fair representation not as a zero sum game. What’s true for our culture, our diaspora, our othering is true for many others. And our allyship is not conditional, nor transactional. We see the appropriation, misunderstandings and erasure around Palestinian culture and stories. Muslim stories. Roma and Traveller stories. Armenian stories. Eastern Europeans and Slavic peoples. Black and Asian narratives. Heck, around women! And trans people! The list goes on. So we’re asking these questions and making these points to improve all of our positions. And we’re saying, especially to our Black and Global Majority friends and colleagues and audiences: stick with us and we’ll stick with you. We’re all better off if we stand together.
And so there’s one thing you can do. Help spread David’s Voice.
Share the hashtag #davidsvoice, and our social media posts. Help get our points, questions and concerns out there. And in front of those in power in theatre. Even, no, especially, if that’s the power of buying or not buying a ticket. Please.
Davids Voice
Arthur Shapiro
Togra (artist)
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Don Borg
Dominic Garfield (HighRise Theatre)
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ZeroZero (artists)
Thank you for your time, your help, and your attention!