October sees the launch of the world’s first Jewish themed Fringe Festival called, somewhat inevitably for a Jewish Fringe, Tsitsit. Its origins are more than a cute pun. Its an idea that started to form when I spent a year or so touring my own one man show, Much Ado About Noshing around various fringe festivals. Add in lockdown, and discussions about how to celebrate Limmud’s 40th anniversary, and Tsitsit began to emerge. Like Limmud, Tsitsit is a very open and inclusive festival. Our strapline is ‘diverse and dispersed’ and the criterion for entry is simple, 'If it's Jewish enough for you, it's Jewish enough for us.'
Tsitsit has received an enormous response, and is offering some world premieres, such as Golems and Glens, which melds Jewish and Scottish folklore , or the wonderfully named The Life of the Great Don Quixote as Written by the Jew Antonia Jose da Silva, and even a musical adaptation of a children’s book, Meet at the Ark at Eight. There is a cabaret evening at the Soho Theatre (formerly Dean Street shul ) and even a Jewish answer to Halloween: Sitra Achra Night -or who says Jews don’t have demons? . Perhaps the most unusual setting for a show is Letters from the Affair, which describes the breakdown of the relationship between the artists Pissarro and Degas, in the wake of the Dreyfus Affair. It will be performed against the backdrop of original Pissarro paintings, at the Stern Pissarro Gallery in London, co-owned by Camille Pissarro’s great granddaughter
Partnership has been another key factor in Tsitsit getting off the ground. The Arts Council awarded us an £11,000 grant and part of that money has been used to build a programme with residents of Jewish Care’s flagship residential home, Anita Dorfman House. Tsitsit’s half term children’s programme is being run with the PJ Library and the Jewish Deaf Association is partnering and advising on accessibility. Near the start of this process, I discovered that a cousin of mine was involved in a superb on line platform for new theatre, so Scenesaver is now another partner, helping us upload recordings of shows. Above all, we have been fortunate to find a dedicated and hugely talented band of volunteers to help make all this happen.
The States has just seen the launch of 'a new initiative in promoting a 21st century Jewish cultural renaissance.' I think we can see the same rebirth here. As much post Corbyn as post Covid, there is a more grassroots phase in Jewish artistic expression. In Brighton ,Margate and Glasgow we are seeing community led projects to establish new Jewish arts centres. New Jewish identities are being shaped and reshaped, crossing boundaries with the fluidity we now accept when we talk about gender. Tsitsit is a great vehicle for people to explore what these new weavings of Jewish life might mean. It is also a real opportunity to merge past, present and future. What has been really interesting is the number of young writers and musicians who are developing new ideas around their own Jewish stories. Going forward, I would really like Tsitsit to have strong role in commissioning new work, especially theatre. October’s month of activities actually begin with a series of online talks that look at British Jews and Theatre, with speakers such as Amy Rosenthal and Patrick Marber.
Tsitsit has started small but is thinking big. As an idea, it can work anywhere and indeed we are already planning a Tsitsit New York. Our immediate task though is to encourage people to see the wonderful variety of music, comedy, theatre, poetry and children’s shows that we are offering in our very first year. Get this right and who knows, not only will we be able to establish Tsitsit as the place to bring your ideas for performance, but also it may yet prove to be, after Limmud, British Jewry’s second most successful Jewish export.
Alastair Falk is Tsitit’s founder and Director. He was a founder of Limmud, has been a Headteacher of three schools and now works -when not organising Tsitsit -as a consultant to the Foundation for Education Development. The full Tsitsit programme can be found at www.tsitsitfringe.org
