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Fresh from an award-winning run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, this two-hander sees twins, Dan (Dylan Corbett-Bader) and Lauren (Gemma Barnett) meeting with ex-gangster Malcolm Spivak, an 80-year-old gangster at their grandfather’s funeral. Malcolm has ‘had enough’ and enlists the help of the siblings with a plan that’s absolutely meshugge – to kidnap Jeremy Corbyn. Yes, really!

The play was previously premiered work at the theatre’s NOW Festival in 2019 and The Yard’s Artistic Director Jay Miller is pleased to see its return.

“Nick started his journey here, and now returns with exactly the kind of bold, provocative theatre this building has always championed. Work that knows how to entertain while it challenges, to play while it provokes. It’s a celebration of everything The Yard stands for.”

Nick uses storytelling, humour and satire in Revenge: After the Levoyah to look at some of the big topics around what it means what it means to be Jewish in the UK today, like antisemitism, collective hysteria and how far you can through a jar of chraine from a moving vehicle!

His work has toured internationally, selling out in venues around the world. He has written plays, created and performed solo work, and made street performances in collaboration with some of the country’s most celebrated venues, including The Royal Court, Soho Theatre, and Battersea Arts Centre. He has an MA from Goldsmiths in Writing for Performance and is a graduate of the Royal Court Young Writers Programme. He is a co-artistic director of take stock exchange. For the past two years, he has also written the JW3 Panto.

For Nick, he considers this play to be ‘a love letter to Jewish Essex’.

“Growing up in Woodford around East London and Essex Jews, I have always been in love with the rhythms and the way people speak. I’m delighted to have this show playing at The Yard as it’s easy for people from Essex to get to and the parking isn’t bad!”He goes on to add: “This piece is full of things that if you come from that part of the world, you will understand plenty of jokes just for you!”

Revenge: After the Levoyah runs from 9^th – 25^th January at the Yard Theatre. To book tickets, visit The Yard Theatre website

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Rabbi Rafi Goodwin of Hainault and Chigwell Synagogue has seen the film and was so deeply moved by this powerful production that he wanted others to have the opportunity to watch it for themselves.

“I can’t recommend this highly enough. It is such an amazing initiative which allows people of all ages to experience what our people went through during the Holocaust. Not everyone can easily arrange a trip to Auschwitz or may be apprehensive to do so, but this production enables everyone to get a tour while also educating and inspiring the participants.”

He adds: “We are blessed that we are able to offer this experience to our community and are extremely thankful to our generous donors who have enabled us to subsidise this event. The uptake has been really great. We can see there is definitely a demand for this event and would love it if as many people as possible are able to share in this unique opportunity.”

The viewing will take place on Sun 6th November at 8pm (prompt) at Chigwell and Hainault Synagogue and is open to members and non-members alike. Doors open at 7:45pm

Tickets cost £15 each and can be booked online.

Refreshments will be served.

*Please note that it is suggested that only those over the age of Bar/Bat Mitzvah should attend, due to the content of the film *

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Each monologue had to be filmed in one take with a static camera in a way that enabled them to be rehearsed and filmed under lockdown conditions. There was no set theme or subject, and they were free to mention Covid-19 directly or to not mention it at all. They were rehearsed online via Zoom and filmed in person with a cameraman observing social distancing conditions. They were then edited and released on YouTube free of charge.

The first five, Volume 1, were released in October 2020 and were so successful that another collection of five were commissioned and Volume 2 was released the following year in April 2021. These too met with great success, to such an extent that Volume 3, will be released in June this year.

One of the writers commissioned for Volume 3 was Essex-born Jewish stand-up comedian, director and writer, Rachel Creeger. Her monologue Pass Me Over is due for release ahead of the June date to coincide with Passover.

In the piece, Miri, a Jewish woman is preparing the Passover Seder in 2021 for her family under lockdown conditions. She is a North London Jewish woman who has been brought up with strong traditions around her culture, but Rachel purposely leaves out her denomination and practice ambiguous.

Miri discovers through the piece that the implications of living with the pandemic for a year have affected her more than she had realised. Although written and performed within the framework of the Passover story as found in the Haggadah text that is read and enacted at the Seder, her experience is completely relatable to anyone who spent time separated from loved ones during the past couple of years, as well as those who found themselves living with them more closely than they had before!

For Rachel, as a modern-Orthodox Jewish woman living in North London herself, the character of Miri is one that is familiar to her in many ways

“In my life, I know a number of Miris, and I am her too. It’s an honour to bring an “everywoman” Jew to the mainstream public domain when so often the focus is on the Charedi community or those who leave the faith.”

Miri is played by actress Rachel Gaffin whose recent credits include Hapless, written and directed by Gary Sinyor and currently showing on Netflix, and Soldier Boy, selected for Seret 2022, the International Israeli Film Festival. She has also performed her own one-woman play, “I Will Tell…”, based on the diaries of children written during the Holocaust, all over the country before she was asked to adapt it for Radio 4.

Having previously worked with Rachel Creeger on a number of projects, she was ‘delighted’ to have the opportunity to work with her again on this.  

“Rachel’s writing is full of layers and the piece can be enjoyed on many levels, whether you’re Jewish, non-Jewish, secular, learned, involved, disinterested…. you name it! I am so excited to be bringing Miri to life in Pass Over Me.  She is every Jewish woman who ever prepared a seder, no matter her religious level or denomination, and her struggles while doing so during lockdown will resonate with everyone.”

Jake Murray is the award-winning artistic director of Elysium Theatre Company and has been responsible for commissioning and directing all of the monologues created. Given the religious content of the piece, Rachel Creeger worked alongside him as co-director, and was thrilled to be working with her on this ‘wonderfully rich piece.’

“Rachel has written a funny, moving, brilliantly original piece of writing which celebrates the fortitude of its main character, Miri, while also presenting the challenges she has had to face trying to keep herself and her family together. Anyone who had to navigate a household through Covid while trying to be a pillar of strength will relate to it. At the same time, the play is a wonderful celebration of Jewishness and Judaism. It shines a spotlight on Jewish practise which is loving and tender, and, in our anti-religious days, presents a warm, sympathetic and proud look at a way of life that is not often understood by the outside world. Everyone will love it, but it will probably strike a special chord in Jewish mothers up and down the country who have done their bit valiantly throughout the entire pandemic.”

Click here to watch Pass Me Over

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All money raised will go towards supporting Jewish Care projects in the Essex area such as Meals on Wheels. As well as having the opportunity to exercise their football knowledge, guests will also have the chance to win some ‘premiere league’ raffle prizes including signed football shirts.

For those wanting to still buy tickets before the final whistle, contact Ellie via echeyette@jcare.org or on 0208 922 2813.

May the best team win…

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An interim arrangement means that activities will be run from Woodford Forest United Synagogue and Synagogue Chairman Robin Jacobs, is looking forward to activities taking place in this new location.

“We at the Synagogue have always prided ourselves on being a warm and welcoming com-munity, so this is a very exciting opportunity for the two organisations to work together for the benefit of the Jewish community in Redbridge.”

Some activities such as Jewish Care’s MIKE Youth Leadership Programme have already started meeting in-person, and it is hoped that more will take place early next year.

Woodford Forest Synagogue is easily accessible by public transport and offers on site parking, which will make attending activities easy and accessible for members and volunteers who need it most.

Alongside resuming Community Centre activities, Jewish Care’s Meals on Wheels, telephone befriending and online programming and events are all still available and will continue as usual to help older people in the community stay supported and connected. Jewish Care’s Supportive Communities groups have also cautiously begun to resume in-person activity, as have Memory Way Cafes for carers or family members living with dementia.

Richard Shone, Jewish Care’s Director of Community Development, added that “we are delighted to share that when the RJCC Day Centre resumes activity, it will incorporate the Tuesday Club, previously run by Woodford Forest United Synagogue. Tuesday Club members will be very welcome to also attend the Day Centre programmes. The Day Centre and Tuesday Club will resume when we have recruited more staff, enabling us to run a fuller service and welcome back more of our members and volunteers.”

“Jewish Care continues to remain 100% committed to the development of a new campus in Redbridge on the existing Sinclair House site. This is not just about physical infrastructure but development of the right services to meet current and future demand for all Jewish Care services and the local community in Essex. Following a positive pre-planning application meeting with the London Borough of Redbridge, we are now looking at how we progress to the next stage with our proposed development, and we will continue to keep you updated as our plans progress.”

For more information about activities on offer, please contact Community Events Organiser, Sharon Imber on simber@jcare.org or 0779 566 7751.

To take part in Jewish Care’s Supportive Communities or Memory Way Café, please contact Supportive Communities and Befriending Officer, Alison Smardina, on asmardina@jcare.org or 020 8922 2273 or Community Dementia Projects Lead, Susan Dawson, on sdawson@jcare.org 020 8922 2294.

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Raymond Wesley Reese shot Trost multiple times as she sat in her car outside the property in Coral Springs, Florida. It is believed that she may have been a victim of mistaken identity, according to a statement from a neighbour.

“There was a disgruntled tenant who was evicted,” Donna Smith told the local news. “He thought that the realtor who was showing the home was the owner of the house when he ambushed her in her car.”

Trost, whose maiden name was Armstrong, grew up in Essex before moving to the US eight years ago, after meeting her American husband, Jason. The couple had a three-year-old daughter together.

She was a big part of the local Jewish community and actively involved with the Chabad centre in Parkland where she lived with her family. Trost had previously volunteered to accompany members of her congregation on a trip to Israel and recently hosted a Chanukah party at her house.

Rabbi Shuey Biston, who had known Trost since she moved to the area, said that she was “the most giving and caring person to both those she personally knew and those who she was unfamiliar with.”

“There wasn’t a community project or programme Sara wouldn’t get behind,” Biston commented. “She always wanted to help, and it was often anonymously.”

He added: “Sara’s heart was full of love- love for her community, love for her friends, love for her family, love for her husband, Jason, but above all, love for the light of her life, her daughter Avery.”

Raymond Reese, a 51-year-old man from the nearby town of Boca Raton has been charged with first-degree murder.

The thoughts of everyone at the EJN are with Trost’s family and loved ones at this difficult time.

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The event, which was held at City Pavilion in Collier Row, was part of Nissim’s ‘Bright Lights Tour 2021’ and attracted 600 people of all ages and backgrounds from across London who all came together to enjoy his music.

Although Nissim has visited and performed in London before for small private events, this was Nissim Black’s first ever full concert in London, and Chabad were honoured to have had the opportunity to organise this special event.

Rabbi Odom Brandman, of Chabad Buckhurst Hill, who oversaw the concert, said “Nissim has an amazing story, he is a unique and special character and was both a total pleasure and professional to work with and was inspirational and uplifting to everyone at the concert”.

African American Nissim grew up in the US where he was not only a rapper, but a gang member.

He became religious around ten years ago converting to Judaism in 2012 and moved to Israel with his family in 2016. He has since built up a large fanbase for his music including in the UK.

Finding the right venue and securing everything needed to pull such a huge event proved extremely challenging, but the spiritual investment into the community and the hard work of Brandman and the rest of his production team was the driving force behind getting it done.

The venue was transformed by the amazing talent of CVS International complete with a star cloth backdrop, lights, huge screens and spark effects.

On the night, Brandman along with his team -Adrian Silas, Adrian Lee, Esther Joseph and their youth workers Sonia Beame and Morrisa Schuler – were blown away by Nissim’s energetic and inspiring performance throughout his 90 minute set.

Rabbi Brandman added: “The night was an amazing experience from start to finish for everyone and without a doubt the big highlight of Chanukah in Essex 2021”

During a quick costume change for Nissim, Rabbi Brandman of Chabad Buckhurst Hill and Rabbi Sufrin MBE of Chabad Gants Hill and Head Shliach to North East London & Essex, took to the stage to light a huge Menorah and share some words of inspiration with the crowd.

Rabbi Sufrin spoke amount the amazing growth of Chabad across Essex now with 9 public Menorahs and Rabbi Brandman spoke about the tremendous effects our positive displays of Jewish Pride can have on our communities. 

This event builds on the success of last year’s Drive-In Concert which was attended by nearly 1,000 people and once again makes Chabad Essex stand out as a leading force when it comes to Community.

One of the Chabad Team heard a little boy tell his mother on the way out that it was ‘the best day of my life!’  Whilst a teacher from a London Jewish school who brought a group of 23 teenagers to the event, felt that the positive Jewish effect of the concert was ‘worth more than 6 months of Jewish Studies lessons in the classroom’

Rabbi Odom Brandman added, when you hear things like this, it makes it all worth it! 

After the concert Nissim came back to Chabad Buckhurst Hill where Rabbi Odom Brandman presented him with an inscribed book, the Tanya printed in the Chabad House and one of the last remaining bottles of Chabad Buckhurst Hill’s famous Menorah Whisky from 2009.

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During lockdown, the health and wellbeing of its tenants was a key focus of their Zoom programme which included a wide range of activities and sessions from exercise classes, pilates and yoga to mindfulness and relaxation classes. Tenants were able to access these classes from the comfort of their own home.

These classes proved so popular, that now that activities can happen in person again, JBD have been looking at different ways to further promote health and wellbeing activities within their developments.

Clive Geller, a Jewish Blind & Disabled Tenant and a Vice President of Maccabi GB and Former Chairman has been keen to see a closer partnership between the two organisations for some time and is “very pleased” that this relationship is beginning to move forward.

He added: “I hope that the future will be bright for both of our organisations and await with interest to seeing how the programme develops.”

After a consultation session between Maccabi GB and tenants at JBD to establish what sports tenants would be interested in, a five-week pilot programme of accessible golf was launched at two of the developments.

Feedback from participants has been positive. Malcolm, a JBD resident said: “I used to play golf and I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to play again. It was something different and lovely to see people enjoying themselves no matter how good or bad they were at golf.”

Another tenant, Diane added: “I have never played golf before but it was something fun to do and it was good exercise for me.”  

Following the success of the programme, JBD are working with Maccabi GB to create taster programmes in a range of accessible sporting activities from walking football to archery.

Ashley Lerner, Chief Executive from Maccabi GB commented: “It’s great to be working together with Jewish Blind & Disabled on this important project. We have each recognised the importance of promoting health and wellbeing and making it accessible to anyone and I look forward to watching this partnership grow”.

Jewish Blind & Disabled’s Community Engagement Manager, Simone Mazin added that by working with Maccabi GB it has “given tenants the opportunity to take part in activities that many assumed that could no longer do. It has been great to see tenants get so involved and enjoy the accessible golf and I look forward to seeing how the programme develops.” 

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The show, which was broadcast in November, showed Rinder getting as far as question 12 out of a possible 15, before using his last lifeline to phone his friend Clare Balding to help him answer a question about James Bond. When she was unable to answer, “In which film is 007 shown to kill only one person”, he decided to walk away with an impressive £64,000.

The prize money will be split between JBD and Buttle UK, a charity dedicated to helping children and young people in crisis in the UK.

For JBD, receiving such a significant donation will help the organisation continue their work in transforming the lives of people with physical disability or visual impairment.

Its mobility apartments are located in seven developments across London and Essex, where JBD help people to live independently. They are also able to provide support services in people’s own homes.

During the show, Rinder explained to host Jeremy Clarkson why the organisation was close to his heart, as it provides a home for his own father, David.

Rinder has supported the charity for many years and has described JBD as ‘a light in the darkness’ in helping him deal with his father’s illness.

JBD’s Chief Executive, Lisa Wimborne, thanked him for his ‘ongoing support for the charity and recognition of the work that we do’.

“It’s not very often that an independent Jewish charity like Jewish Blind & Disabled gets a mention on prime-time national TV and is awarded a generous prize sum too. His decision to nominate us as one of his chosen charities means so much to us. As the son of a tenant, she commented, he has seen first-hand the impact of our work and what better endorsement can we get?”

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