The British director, writer and producer has died aged 41

The death was announced of one of the brightest and busiest Jewish creatives in the business of theatre. Adam Lenson was only 41. He had already done so much, especially as a wonderfully talented stage director. His must-see production of the musical Cable Street, telling the story of ‘the Battle of Cable Street', in which Jewish and other minorities came together to successfully thwart Oswald Moseley’s and his fascists' intended march on Jews in the East End, sold out at both Southwark Playhouse (where it had two runs in 2024) and a transfer to the Marylebone Theatre in early 2026, followed by an Off-Broadway debut in Spring 2026. I saw it twice and loved it both times - and I got to speak to Adam too, a real joy. Our conversation was published in Jewish Renaissance in the Winter 2023-24 edition.

He was multi-talented, for he also designed productions, including including Revenge: After the Levoyah (Hebrew for funeral) a huge success at London’s Yard Theatre in January 2025, where it was directed by his wife Emma Jude Harris. They had also worked together in 2023 on Antisemitism: a (((musical))), a four-star satirical comedy musical by Uri Agnon at the Camden People’s Theatre, Emma as director and Adam as Video Designer.

They married in April 2024.

Shows exploring and interrogating Jewish life, arts and practice were part of his natural territory. In January 2022 he wrote in The Jewish Chronicle about the discussion on casting Jews and non Jews in Jewish roles, looking at the casting of Falsettos, a musical about a Jewish family ‘without a single Jewish cast or creative team member’.

Poignantly, his latest appearance on the Jewish Renaissance Blog was a four-star review by Maia Kahn of his 2026 Edinburgh Fringe Show Is It Too Late Now To Say Sorry? which reviewer Maia Kahn summed up in her heading: Adam Lenson explores apology in an affecting multimedia solo show.

Judi Herman

Photo by Guy J Sanders