John Nathan

Latest from John Nathan

Challah, humour, the Holocaust and me

John Nathan meets a writer-performer whose latest show is inspired by her encounters with Leonard Bernstein, Leonard Cohen – and being the daughter of a Shoah survivor

4 min read

Grieving process: Jessie Buckley as Agnes Shakespeare (centre) in Hamnet

Hamnet review: ‘needs a middle ground between modern and Elizabethan English’ ★★★

2 min read

Mad release: Sheridan Smith and Sule Rimi as Susan and Andy (Photo: Marc Brenner)

Woman in Mind review: Sheridan Smith sparkles in Alan Ayckbourn’s dark comedy ★★★★★

1 min read

Katie Brayben as the baker's wife in Into The Woods. (Credit: Johan Persson)

Into The Woods review: Goyishe Brothers Grimm gloriously reinvented by a Jewish creative team ★★★★★

2 min read

Marty Supreme review: ‘Timothée Chalamet is monumental’ ★★★★★

The Jewishness of Chalamet’s Marty is both defining and lightly worn in Josh Safdie’s classic American fable

2 min read

December 29, 2025 18:27

Ping pong prodigy: Chalamet's bespectacled Marty is inspired by real-life Marty Reisman

Christmas Day review: A not-quite-realised effort at Jewish catharsis ★★★

Arguments over Jewish identity become super-heated in this dark comedy full of timely – although unfortunately random – elements

2 min read

December 24, 2025 14:41

Christmas Day at Almeida Theatre. (Photo: Marc Brenner)

2025 in review: Film

From a superhero to the very worst Friday night dinner – John Nathan picks his favourite Jewish representations on the silver screen

4 min read

December 24, 2025 13:35

2025 in review: Theatre

John Nathan chooses the best plays of the year, from a new stage adaptation of Mel Brooks’s musical The Producers to a comic revenge fantasy about the kidnap of Jeremy Corbyn

4 min read

December 24, 2025 13:09

It is called Christmas Day but it is about being Jewish

Nigel Lindsay on why he’s pleased to play a Jew on the London stage amid soaring antisemitism

5 min read

December 18, 2025 14:12

Short fuse: Nigel Lindsay in Christmas Day at Almeida Theatre (Photo: Marc Brenner)

This version of Roald Dahl’s BFG shows that giants can be small and pathetic ★★★★

Unlike The Witches in which Dahl was accused of having Jews in mind when he created the cabal of child-killers, Jewish theatregoers can relax with this adaptation

2 min read

December 16, 2025 17:40

Not so gentle: Ellemie Shivers (as Sophie) with the gargantuan puppet (Photo: Marc Brenner)

Peter Hujar’s Day review: ‘a hymn to the wet process of photography’ ★★★★

The Jewish, gay and fearless independent film-maker Ira Sachs turns an interview with the renowned photographer Peter Hujar into a captivating film

1 min read

December 10, 2025 13:22

Time capsule: Ben Whishaw and Rebecca Hail in Ira Sach's film

A Dracula spoof to enjoy, but no fangs for my seat ★★★

Excellent music and the jokes come thick and fast. I just wish I could have seen what was happening centre stage!

1 min read

December 10, 2025 11:45

Ciarán Dowd in Dracapella (Photo: Craig Sugden)

The moment Tom Stoppard revealed his Jewish soul to me

The great playwright discovered his Jewishness late in life – and the impact was huge

5 min read

December 3, 2025 10:39

Blue Moon review: ‘Ethan Hawke turns in a superb performance’ ★★★★

The actor’s portrayal of the waspish, Jewish lovelorn lyricist Lorenx Hart is excellent

1 min read

December 2, 2025 18:37

Extreme combover: Ethan Hawke as Lorenz Hart and Margaret Qualley as Elizabeth Weiland

The Spy Who Came In From The Cold review: ‘hugely satisfying stage adaptation’★★★★

There is a strong Jewish presence in this taut le Carré Cold War thriller which has more twists than a cheese stick

1 min read

December 2, 2025 18:25

Setting the trap: Rory Kennan as British spy Alec Leamas (Credit: Johan Persson)

All My Sons review: Bryan Cranston is terrific in this new Arthur Miller revival ★★★★

Ivo van Hove’s direction of the author’s 1955 hit peels back the central family’s secrets with cinematic vigour

1 min read

November 26, 2025 15:07

ALL MY SONS. Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Kate Keller) and Richard Hansell (Dr Jim Bayliss). Photo: Jan Versweyveld

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John Nathan

Latest from John Nathan

Challah, humour, the Holocaust and me

Hamnet review: ‘needs a middle ground between modern and Elizabethan English’ ★★★

Woman in Mind review: Sheridan Smith sparkles in Alan Ayckbourn’s dark comedy ★★★★★

Into The Woods review: Goyishe Brothers Grimm gloriously reinvented by a Jewish creative team ★★★★★

More from John Nathan

Marty Supreme review: ‘Timothée Chalamet is monumental’ ★★★★★

Christmas Day review: A not-quite-realised effort at Jewish catharsis ★★★

2025 in review: Film

2025 in review: Theatre

It is called Christmas Day but it is about being Jewish

This version of Roald Dahl’s BFG shows that giants can be small and pathetic ★★★★

Peter Hujar’s Day review: ‘a hymn to the wet process of photography’ ★★★★

A Dracula spoof to enjoy, but no fangs for my seat ★★★

The moment Tom Stoppard revealed his Jewish soul to me

Blue Moon review: ‘Ethan Hawke turns in a superb performance’ ★★★★

The Spy Who Came In From The Cold review: ‘hugely satisfying stage adaptation’★★★★

All My Sons review: Bryan Cranston is terrific in this new Arthur Miller revival ★★★★