Danielle Goldstein

March 31, 2022

Reviews, Theatre

The Marriage of Alice B Toklas by Gertrude Stein ★★★

Danielle Goldstein

March 31, 2022

Reviews, Theatre

The Marriage of Alice B Toklas by Gertrude Stein ★★★

Before I got to know Alice B Toklas and Gertrude Stein, at least in playwright Edward Einhorn’s reimagining, I must confess my awareness of the pair stretched little further than Stein’s oft-quoted gnomic declaration: “A rose is a rose…

Danielle Goldstein

March 15, 2022

Reviews, Theatre

The Merchant of Venice ★★★★★

Danielle Goldstein

March 15, 2022

Reviews, Theatre

Alone on a darkened stage a young woman lights a candelabra, singing Black Eyed Peas with the band (led by Zac Gvi): "I got a feeling / That tonight's gonna be a good night… Mazel tov." Jessica, Shylock’s daughter, tense as she plans elopement with her Christian lover Lorenzo…

Danielle Goldstein

February 17, 2022

Reviews, Theatre

The Chairs ★★★★

Danielle Goldstein

February 17, 2022

Reviews, Theatre

You could almost call Eugene Ionesco’s 1952 absurdist farce typecasting, what with it featuring a married couple with decades together under their belts. The Romanian-born French playwright, whose mother was Jewish, could hardly have envisaged a husband and wife duo of physical…

Danielle Goldstein

February 2, 2022

Reviews, Theatre

Dr Semmelweis ★★★★★

Danielle Goldstein

February 2, 2022

Reviews, Theatre

It is just 172 years this year since Dr Ignaz Semmelweis, a brilliant but conflicted Hungarian Jewish obstetrician working in Vienna, first shared a shocking discovery and made public his passionate exhortation to his colleagues in three words that are currently all too familiar: “Wash…

Danielle Goldstein

January 20, 2022

Reviews, Music

The Israel Philharmonic Celebrates 85 Years ★★★

Danielle Goldstein

January 20, 2022

Reviews, Music

The Israel Philharmonic Celebrates 85 Years ★★★

In less than an hour, a promotional film about the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra sails at a rate of knots through nearly a century of cultural history. Its aim is to open the pockets of potential donors, but it's likely to open their…

Danielle Goldstein

January 12, 2022

Reviews, Theatre

Nabucco ★★★★

Danielle Goldstein

January 12, 2022

Reviews, Theatre

Jewish themes rarely crop up in classical opera, so it's no surprise that Giuseppe Verdi sent shock waves through Europe with his third opera Nabucco in 1842. The piece replaces drab arias and emotionless principals with a dramatic retelling of Jewish Middle Eastern history…

Danielle Goldstein

December 22, 2021

Reviews, Theatre

Peggy for You ★★★★

Danielle Goldstein

December 22, 2021

Reviews, Theatre

Alan Plater’s portrait of Peggy Ramsay, the agent he shared with a galaxy of fellow playwrights, premiered at Hampstead Theatre in 1999 with Maureen Lipman in the title role, subsequently transferring to the West End. Richard Wilson’s sparky new production of Plater’s day…

Danielle Goldstein

December 20, 2021

Reviews, Theatre

Spring Awakening ★★★★★

Danielle Goldstein

December 20, 2021

Reviews, Theatre

Frank Wedekind wrote his daring exploration of teenage angst and repression in 1891, but thanks to scenes graphically exploring pubescent sexual fantasies onstage, it was premiered only in 1906 and has often been censored or banned. Its setting in a time of sexual repression is vital…

Danielle Goldstein

December 15, 2021

Reviews, Theatre

Habeas Corpus ★★★★

Danielle Goldstein

December 15, 2021

Reviews, Theatre

Billing Alan Bennett’s 1973 comedy as "a filthy farce from a less enlightened age" is a canny move. It pretty well pre-empts any cancelling by detractors in 2021, shocked by the fun in that age of trouser-dropping and accidental bosom fondling, typified by the long-running so-called…

Danielle Goldstein

November 18, 2021

Reviews, Film & TV

UKJFF 2021: Sin La Habana ★★★★

Danielle Goldstein

November 18, 2021

Reviews, Film & TV

This moving romantic drama about a struggling Cuban ballet dancer, who crosses paths with an Iranian-Canadian Jewish woman looking for love, brings the 25th UK Jewish Film Festival to a vibrant close this week. Sin La Habana screens online and in person at London's Picturehouse…

Danielle Goldstein

November 17, 2021

Reviews, Theatre

A Merchant of Venice ★★★

Danielle Goldstein

November 17, 2021

Reviews, Theatre

Adaptor/director Bill Alexander describes his relationship with The Merchant of Venice as "obsessive" and he's directed acclaimed productions at the RSC and Birmingham Rep. He flags up his intention to rethink Shakespeare’s problematical comedy by paring the cast…

Danielle Goldstein

November 15, 2021

Reviews, Film & TV

UKJFF 2021: Apples and Oranges ★★★

Danielle Goldstein

November 15, 2021

Reviews, Film & TV

This absorbing new documentary explores those volunteers who flocked to Israel’s kibbutzim and their vast impact, but it also reveals the darker underside. In the swinging 60s, the countercultural generation wanted to travel, try new experiences, taste life abroad and, most importantly…

Danielle Goldstein

November 14, 2021

Reviews, Art

Metzger’s Mobbile

Danielle Goldstein

November 14, 2021

Reviews, Art

During the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), a VW Passat with a one-metre-square glass container attached to its roof drove around the west end of Glasgow. The car was originally manufactured by climate change activist and artist Gustav Metzger in 1970, which…

Danielle Goldstein

November 10, 2021

Reviews, Film & TV

UKJFF 2021: Thou Shalt Not Hate ★★★★ // A Starry Sky Above the Roman Ghetto ★★★★

Danielle Goldstein

November 10, 2021

Reviews, Film & TV

UKJFF 2021: Thou Shalt Not Hate ★★★★ // A Starry Sky Above the Roman Ghetto ★★★★

I was intrigued to discover two Italian films screening at this year’s UK Jewish Film Festival, one set in Rome, the other in north-eastern Italy near Trieste, and both covering not…

Danielle Goldstein

November 10, 2021

Reviews, Film & TV

UKJFF 2021: The Policeman ★★★★

Danielle Goldstein

November 10, 2021

Reviews, Film & TV

This classic 1971 Israeli feature celebrates its 50th anniversary this year and it's aged beautifully. Written and directed by Ephraim Kishon, HaShoter Azoulay, aka The Policeman, took home numerous awards in 1972, including Best Foreign Language Film at the Golden Globes…