WITS END to Make World Premiere at Circle and Star Theatre

Estée Stimler's sharp, irreverent comedy about family relationships, sibling rivalry, grief, loss and religious tradition versus modern life, Wit's End, is set to receive its World premiere at Circle and Star Theatre in Hampstead.

Directed by the theatre's Artistic Director, comedian, actor and writer Steve Furst, this bitingly funny and sometimes dark play explores unresolved rivalries as three siblings come together for their father's funeral.

Marvin Becker has died, and his three children have one afternoon to bury him. There's Yitzy, who gave up fourteen years of his life — a scholarship, a career, a future — to care for their father; Cooper, who paid for every penny of that care from three thousand miles away but never once visited; and Denise, the middle sibling, who has opinions about both of them and no intention of keeping them to herself. Around this trio are an aunt who has not stopped talking since 1961, a rabbi hired off the internet who turns out to be a working comedian, a eulogy with the wrong names in it and a grave that has been dug to the wrong size.

Running from 9 to 22 November and starring David Boyle as Rabbi Horowitz, Sue Kelvin as Aunt Phyllis, Leah Marks as Denise and Daniel Lipton as Yitzy and Shai Foster as Cooper, Wit's End is a comedy about who did the caring, who paid for it and what we owe someone we never really knew. The audience becomes the congregation, and in an intimate theatre of just 55 seats, there is nowhere to look away.

Steve Furst says: 'There's something wonderfully Jewish about finding humour in the most difficult and inappropriate situations, and Wit's End does exactly that. It's a very funny play about a family who have spent years avoiding saying what they really think about each other, only for everything to come spilling out at the worst possible moment. Estée has written something that is sharp, irreverent and at times gloriously uncomfortable, but underneath all the comedy there's a great deal of heart. I think audiences will recognise a lot of their own families in the Beckers, whether they want to or not.'

Listings

Wits End

A Comedy About Death

9-22 November 2026

Monday to Saturday 7.30pm (not Monday 16th)

Matinees Saturday and Sunday 3pm

Circle and Star Theatre

28 Heath Street, Hampstead, London NW3 6TE

Age recommendation: 18+

Tickets 25

https://witsend.circleandstar.live/

Estée Stimler

Born and bred in New York, Estee Stimler has lived in London for thirty-seven years. For over twenty years, she had a successful career as a speechwriter for corporate executives, politicians, and private individuals around the world, as well as comedy consulting. (Fun fact: one of Estee's speeches was enshrined on a plaque presented to US President Bill Clinton in the Oval Office.)

Through an irreverent, witty lens, she writes musicals, plays, and animation, combining classic humour with modern narratives. In addition to her own work, Estee is currently dramaturging new musicals for the stage.

She is a Full Member of the Writers' Guild of Great Britain and holds an MA with Distinction in Writing Musical Theatre from Goldsmiths, University of London.

Currently, Estee is researching a PhD in the mechanics of comedy in musical theatre at Goldsmiths, University of London.

Steve Furst

Steve Furst is co-founder and artistic director of Circle & Star. He is a comedian, actor and cabaret star with more than thirty years in front of an audience. He is best known as the lounge singer Lenny Beige, who played ten seasons at the Regency Rooms and had two series on BBC Choice. On stage he has played Mr Wormwood in Matilda the Musical, Shylock in Something Rotten! at Drury Lane and Fagin in Oliver! at Leeds Playhouse. On screen he appeared in all three series of Little Britain. He wrote and performs Fagin — Hero or Villain?, which won an Offies Assessors' Choice, and this November he directs Estée Stimler's Wits End.

Circle & Star

Circle & Star is a 55-seat independent theatre at 28 Heath Street, Hampstead NW3. It was founded by Steve Furst and Justin Bovington and opened in December 2025. It is a theatre in its own right, with its own entrance and West End-quality sound and lighting, and every seat is a good one. The programme mixes new plays, solo shows, cabaret and salons, running in the house strands VOICES, STORIES and STAGES. It also includes Sleevenotes, an immersive evening around a classic album. In 2026 the theatre will stage 170 performances for more than 5,000 people. Circle & Star is a pending charitable trust governed by a board of trustees.