Golders Green is rightly famous for many things. There's the Hippodrome Theatre which hosted Laurence Olivier, Marlene Dietrich and a Marx brother. Then there's the crematorium which was the first to be built in London and is the final resting place for the ashes of a motley crew of Ronnie Biggs, Enid Blyton, Sigmund Freud, Peter Sellers and Bram Stoker (amongst others). And then there is its large Jewish population and tasty kosher restaurants.
Written and performed by Deli Segal with direction by Kayla Feldman, Pickle lands us to the heart of this part of northwest London and into the life of Ari Fisch as she navigates between her traditional Jewish upbringing and household and her day job as a journalist for the Ham & High. We meet her family - worrying mother, frenemy of a sibling - and voyage with her through religious events (here a bris, there a Purim) as well as the usual Friday night dinners.
As with pretty much everyone born into a non-Anglo-centric culture, she struggles with her identity: how much should she adhere to and respect the values of her family and community and how much to those of work colleagues and society at large? Segal's script drops in many interesting facets of Jewish life, from their love of sushi (it's no coincidence that Golders Green has not one but two branches of Eat Tokyo plus an all-you-can-eat Sushimania within a few minutes of each other) to their dry and dark humour.
At times, the episodic nature of Pickle calls to mind an extended stand-up comedy routine more than theatre but Feldman's direction keeps the dissection of Ari's dilemma upbeat and engaging, albeit without any definite resolution. Her pacing makes sure that things move along at a decent speed and that the efforts of Segal - both as writer and actor - shine out.
Jewish language is a rich seam to mine, rich enough that a printed glossary of Hebrew terms is provided to audience members. It's not an uncommon topic - next month sees the release of Nice Jewish Boy at Hope Theatre, described as "a tragic comedy about a clash of identities" - but Segal infuses her protaganist's sex, drugs and gefilte fish lifestyle with a lively vibrancy.
This one-woman play doesn't veer too far from the now-wellworn Fleabag formula of hookups/family/friends/fourth wall-breaking confessions/rinse and repeat and it will be interesting to see where Segal takes her central character next. Even if Pickle covers ground seen aplenty elsewhere, there is an endearing vigor at the heart of this play. From the goy Greg to the loud American, this Fisch-eye view on la vida Ari is a madcap journey with music, musings and matzo balls.
Pickle continues at Park Theatre until 26 November. It is presented as part of Park Theatre's Make Mine A Double programme.
Photo Credit: Danny Kaan
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