Sam Sherman brings a powerful and perfectly paced performance to London, sharing a tale of Jewish solidarity and ancestral connection
There’s a moment in the middle of Sam Sherman’s solo show, Kaddish (How to be a Sanctuary), in which he teaches the audience a series of Yiddish curses via call and response. Where before we simply watched, now we’re almost conversing. It’s moments like this that warrant the play’s subtitle and reminds us that theatres can be a space of ritual, connection and learning, not just spectatorship. And in the intimate upstairs theatre at the Old Red Lion Pub & Playhouse, that feeling is all the more palpable.
Kaddish sees Sherman embody his paternal grandfather Saul, as he recounts serving in the army during World War II, as well as himself, a 28-year-old American artist and activist volunteering in the West Bank. These two relatives never met, yet similarities between their stories begin to emerge.
The play had a celebrated run at last year’s Edinburgh Fringe, where it won a Bobby Award (bestowed by theatre news site Broadway Baby). It’s no surprise why: Sherman and co-creator/director Lila Weitzner have created a singularly moving, funny and dramaturgically taut hour that deftly portrays personal and political struggles across generations.
Each moment has purpose. Weitzman makes use of the small space, having Sherman traverse new ground steadily over the course of the show, gradually lowering the divide between the two characters. Each mannerism, look and gesture from Sherman is precise, and Saul and Sam both have such vivid physicalities and voices that it’s easy to forget it’s only one person on stage. There’s also a gesture evoking the myth of the Golem that begins the play and, in turn, places the family story within a greater folk history of the Jewish people, and the fine line that runs between protection and destruction.
The mix of verbatim – all of Saul’s lines are pulled directly from his real-life writings, transcribed by Sherman’s father – and original compositions in the script is thrilling. Twentieth-century antisemitism reverberates from past to present, not just in the form of Jew-hating, but echoed in the struggles of Black Americans in Sherman’s native Washington, DC, and of modern day Palestinians. Sherman reckons with his grandfather’s familial pride, while opposing his parents’ wishes by travelling to the Centre for Jewish Nonviolence in Masafer Yatta. By highlighting their shared plight, Kaddish delivers an urgent message of solidarity that is refreshing in today’s divided community.
Having already played in Edinburgh, DC, New York and now London, Kaddish continues to Prague later this month. The show remains rooted in beliefs, while maintaining an international appeal. Like the sanctuary it encourages us to become for others, Kaddish imagines a just, safe, reflective world, and invites us inside with artistic and thematic brilliance.
By Maia Kahn
Kaddish (How to be a Sanctuary) runs until Saturday 23 May. £19.50, £17.50 concs. Old Red Lion Pub & Playhouse, London, WC1V 6LS. weareoldred.co.uk