A touching tale of an impossible dilemma, shared with empathy and sensitivity
As the lights go up onstage and fade on the audience, we are aware of the lively, unpredictable presence of a young man loping from auditorium to stage. At one side, we see a portrait on an easel, clearly of the young man, in a black hat, suit and tie, looking rather younger than the live wire in tight black casuals who stands in front of us. This is Ari.
Centre-stage sits a box on a table draped with a prayer shawl. It is a huge shock when it becomes apparent that this is actually a coffin (rest assured this is not a spoiler). Two more revelations follow: the photo is of 13-year-old Ari at his bar mitzvah and the coffin, he announces almost matter of fact, is his. He is awaiting burial, for, at just 18, he committed suicide, hoping to embark on a kinder afterlife.
Playwright Shimmy Braun’s bold title, Faygele, provides apt explanation of the young protagonist's plight and motivation. Translated from Yiddish, 'faygele' is actually ‘little bird’, but it has become a contemptuous term of insult for a gay man, someone whose life chances can be compromised, especially in the Orthodox Jewish community (Brooklyn in this case) as Braun reveals from personal experience.
From the moment we meet Ari, vividly played by Ilan Galkoff, his life force is evident. Conversely, his parents are entirely the opposite, and it's not just at his funeral that it's evidenced. As the action flashes back through Ari’s life, we meet his father Dr Freed (Ben Caplan), a strictly religious, apparently uncompromisingly straight up and down father figure, not afraid to angrily chastise his son both verbally and physically. Ari's mother, whose first name we never learn, is stooped with tension and misery, trapped under her husband’s thumb in a harrowing performance by Clara Francis. We learn that Ari is the eldest of her 12 children (Orthodox couples do not use contraception) and that she has more challenges in her marriage than offspring, for her husband has his own dark secrets. In spite of her pain, it is beautiful to witness the care she takes over her children, such as singing a Yiddish lullaby to Ari as he lies with his head in her lap.
Unsurprisingly, Ari and his father find their way to the minister of their community, Andrew Paul’s Rabbi Lev. Though an understanding minister, he is in a difficult position too, for his dilemma is how to give what seems like conflicting advice.
It is reassuring for Ari to meet what could be a vital part of his life, offering the voice of reason and the chance of coming to terms with his sexuality. Sammy Stein is an empathetic gay Jewish man in his 40s, who has made it his business to support younger gay men in his community facing abuse. He’s played with nuanced sensitivity by Israeli-born Yiftach Mizrahi. Of course, we know from the start that Sammy cannot save Ari, but it doesn't detract from the power of Braun’s scenario, rather it adds to it.
Hannah Chissick directs the touching and important drama with delicacy and insight, while designer David Shields’ simple set suits the action perfectly. Brooklyn is hinted at by a silhouette of skyscrapers and his costumes are spot on, especially Ari’s mother’s sober and "decent" unrevealing long skirts and sleeves.
The honesty and generosity that Braun employs in his writing illuminates dark and difficult corners of life's relationships, across generations and genders, in a drama that is moving, revelatory and packs a huge emotional punch.
By Judi Herman
Photos by Jane Hobson
Faygele runs until Saturday 31 May. 7.30pm (Mon-Sat), 2.30pm (Thu & Sat only). £22.25-£77.25. Marylebone Theatre, NW1 6XT. marylebonetheatre.com