Josh Maughan's charming one-man debut takes the audience on a cathartic search for acceptance
The small room above a busy pub in Islington is the perfect setting for Springbok Production’s monologue-style hour, in which protagonist Josh Sher portrays the highs (literally), lows and in-between’s of being gay and Jewish in today’s society.
Viewers watch Josh (played by writer Josh Maughan) turn 19 and the subsequent avenues his coming of age takes him down, including evenings at renowned gay club Heaven (demonstrated by Kirsty Yeung’s evocative lighting), Saturdays at shul and the occasional trip to a bush in Hampstead Heath with a Grindr match. While Josh’s inner circle is aware of his sexuality, his family and Jewish acquaintances certainly aren’t. There are several references to his looming anxiety and unsteady mental health, which reaches its peak when his mother reveals his birthday present: an all expenses paid trip to Israel.
While this religious voyage is one that would fill most Jewish teens with excitement, it floods our leading man with a dread that he temporarily alleviates with copious amounts of herbal rescue remedy. Josh can’t fathom visiting the most Holy landmark in Judaism, overlooked by a God who doesn’t believe in homosexuality. His wavering belief in HaShem (a Hebrew name for God) is one that troubles him more than he'd like to admit, and at the most inappropriate times – cue a drug-fuelled fondle with a ‘bear’ (a big, hairy gay man) in a nightclub, clouded by the HaTikveh (Israel's national anthem) bellowing in Josh’s brain.
The fundamental storyline focuses on the struggles Josh faces with his sexuality and religion (the latter exacerbated by his mother). He catastrophises almost every encounter in day to day life, which we soon learn is a result of Josh's uncertainty around identity and a longing for acceptance. In the climax of the soliloquy, a petrified Josh comes out to his mum on the phone, only to be told: "Joshy, of course we already knew, we bought you a Lady Gaga CD for your 12th birthday." This overwhelming moment of scripted approval is reinforced by his real life mother and two sisters, who are sitting in the audience and tear up at the conversation.
Nice Jewish Boy could be described as an acquired taste. The depictions of drugs and sexuality are extremely graphic and stand to take certain audience members further than they expected into realms that most people keep behind closed doors. But that was probably Maughan’s intention for his debut play and his talent – complimented by Jake Samson's direction and Lucy Hunt’s production – is in notably abundant.
By Dani Silver
Photos by Springbok Production House
Nice Jewish Boy ran Tuesday 13 - Saturday 17 December at Hope Theatre, N1 1RL. See instagram.com/springbok__ for news on future runs.