Theatre :: Bad Jews - what happens when you put 3 cousins in a small space

Bad Jews, now showing at the Seymour Theatre in Chippendale, is one of those plays that held my attention throughout the entire one act, 100 minutes performance. With brilliant acting, Bad Jews is an intense play set in a cramped Manhattan apartment centring on a Jewish family and the tensions that arise where there are differences in the degree of beliefs in their religion. With that comes a quarrel as to who is most entitled to the treasured family heirloom with religious significance. When you put three cousins, with strong personalities in a small space who come together because of the passing of their beloved grandfather, you are bound to get an atmosphere that’s explosive and filled with rapid fire arguments. Bad Jews had me roaring with laughter.

Image courtesy of AKA Publicity

The set was a modern studio apartment where cousins, Daphna (Maria Angelico), Jonah (Matt Whitty) and Liam (Simon Corfield) stay after the funeral of their grandfather. With the combination of the real life set design and compelling acting, I felt like I was watching their conversations and arguments in their lounge room.

We got a taste of Daphna’s passion towards family and faith when firstly she expresses disgust when her self-centred, spoilt brat ‘mamma’s boy attitude’ cousin Liam fails to make it to their grandfather’s funeral, because he was on a ski trip with his non-Jewish girlfriend, Melody (Anna Burgess). Daphna’s character was well played by Angelico who rapid fire and verbal diarrhea is said with such intellect and conviction I was cheering Daphna on all the way to the end. We also got a taste of Daphna’s passion for her faith through her belief that she was most entitled to their grandfather’s treasured heirloom, Poppy’s Chai medallion. Things reach boiling point when Liam wants to give it instead of an engagement ring to his girlfriend, Melody, who has absolutely no idea about her own heritage let alone the treasured Chai.

I’ve had a great run with highly entertaining live theatre recently and this is just another one to add to my list. Go and see it. It’s worth watching.

Venue: Everest Theatre, Seymour Centre

Dates: May 18th – June 4th

Performance Times:
Tuesday to Saturday 8pm
Saturday 3pm
Sunday 5pm