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Theatre

From Marx to Dylan, a year of Jewish drama

John Nathan shares his hits of the year

December 28, 2017 12:03
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2 min read

2017 was a strong year for Jewish plays and practitioners, beginning, promisingly, at Southwark Playhouse with the hugely nostalgic Promises, Promises, Neil Simon and Burt Bacharach’s musical version of The Apartment.

No production better combined Jewish character and theatre maker than Young Marx, the inaugural production of the newly formed Bridge Theatre.

Richard Bean and Clive Coleman’s comedy about the founder of Socialism when he was a “penniless Jew” in London heralded the welcome return of Nicholas Hytner to London theatre. It’s great to have him back.

After Marx’s youth came Young Frankenstein (could there have been any booking mishaps?) which saw Mel Brooks deliver the funniest musical in the West End since the last time he delivered the funniest musical in the West End. This show isn’t quite the hit that The Producers was, but Ross Noble’s Igor is every bit as good as Marty Feldman’s original in the film — and then some.