Cast Set For ANTISEMITISM A (((MUSICAL))) at Camden People's Theatre

The cast has been announced for Antisemitism: a (((musical))), an outrageous new musical coming to Camden People’s Theatre this autumn, following an Israeli Jew’s first 24 hours on British soil.  From bickering aunts to some inept kidnappers, our unwitting hero sets off on a wild, hilarious and hostile journey.  Composer and writer Uri Agnon’s  UK theatre debut will sing and dance its way through one of the most explosive topics in British politics today. 

A fast-moving political satire, Antisemitism: a (((musical))) blends Jewish humour and genre-bending music to tackle centuries-old hatred towards the Jewish community in a no-holds-barred yet nuanced production from the perspective of the eternal outsider/insider: the wandering Jew.  

Maya Kristal Tenenbaum (The Band’s Visit, Donmar Warehouse; Fury and Elysium, The Other Palace) is the protagonist, taken on one hell of a ride from Tel Aviv airport through London, confronted by prejudices from all sides.  Joining her are Hannah Bristow (As You Like It, RSC; Jane Eyre, National Theatre; Kindertransport, Queen’s Theatre and Théâtre de la Ville) and Amy Parker (Ride, VAULT Festival and Charing Cross Theatre; Tokyo Rose, Southwark Playhouse and UK tour; Keep Calm and Carry On, Eric, New Vic Theatre).  

Following the long Jewish tradition of musical theatre, and drawing inspiration from composers such as Sondheim, Bernstein and Weill, Antisemitism: a (((musical))) uses music blended with dark, gasp-out-loud humour to explore these hot-button issues in society today.  

Antisemitism: a (((musical))) is written and composed by Uri Agnon (Word Problems, Tel Aviv Museum of Art) and directed by Emma Jude Harris (Cabildo, Arcola Theatre and Wilton’s Music Hall; The Retreat, Finborough Theatre; Watch on the Rhine, Donmar Warehouse). The musical director is David Merriman (Le Gateau Chocolat: Raw Cacao, Lyric and Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre; Duckie, Southbank Centre), the set and costume designer is Cory Shipp (The Mikvah Project, Orange Tree Theatre; Cyrano de Bergerac, Watermill Theatre; Anyone Can Whistle, Southwark Playhouse), Amy Daniels (Gunter, Summerhall; RISE, Kiln Theatre; The Death and Life of All of Us, Soho Theatre, Summerhall and UK tour) is the lighting designer; Amy Lawrence (Pinocchio, Chichester Festival Theatre; The Trackers of Oxyrhynchus, Finborough Theatre; Lysistrata, New Wimbledon Theatre) is the movement director; and Adi Gortler (Baghdaddy and Jews. In Their Own Words, Royal Court; The Anarchist, Jermyn Street Theatre) is the movement consultant.  

Writer Uri Agnon comments, It’s so exciting to work with such an outstanding group of artists on this show.  I started writing this show four years ago.  Through everything that has happened since, I kept hoping for this show about antisemitism to become a little less relevant, feel a little less urgent.  It never did.  Now feels as crucial a time as ever to ask what it means to be an ‘other’, to look at how hate moves and shifts through history and politics, to search for hope through solidarity and to laugh in the face of bigotry.  I couldn’t have hoped for a better equipped group of people to dig into the work.

Antisemitism: a (((musical))) is supported by Arts Council England, and is also made with support from the Parkes Institute of Jewish/non-Jewish Relations at the University of Southampton, the Royal Victoria Hall Foundation, the Hinrichsen Foundation and JW3.