A double bill of kosher comedy

Micaela Blitz — Sun, 21 Dec 2025 10:39:02 +0000

If you like your theatre funny, a little bit silly, and with a Jewish twist then all your Chanukahs have come at once with the opening of not one, but two of Nick Cassenbaum’s productions recently.

The JW3 panto, now in its third year, has become a much-loved part of the festive calendar, and this year may be the best yet. Cinderella and the Matzo Ball is a reimagining of the classic fairy tale, with all the traditional elements of pantomime plus a huge helping of humour as Jewish as chicken soup!

Talia Pick makes her pantomime debut in the title role as Cinderella, who in this production is a Jewish baker living in Yeast Finchley working for her family business, Breadzinski’s, where she is made to do everything by her nasty sisters, Milchig (played by Rosie Yadid) and Fleishig (Libby Liburd). She dreams of one day escaping from her servitude and hopes that an invitation from Prince Charming to attend the (matzo) ball will be her chance.

A visit from her fairy godmother transforms her into a princess complete with crystal (not glass) slippers and she is given strict instructions to return home before Shabbos. Debbie Chazen, a JW3 panto regular, plays Fairy Cake bringing the funny with a large slice of bakery-related puns.

As the clock strikes and Cinderella runs off, she leaves behind a crystal slipper. This sparks a search by Prince Charming and an adventure that sees Cinderella banished from the Kosher Kingdom to Treif Land, where, after being chased by a giant lobster (this is Treif Land after all), she realises that her true Prince was actually under her nose all along in her best friend Buttons (also known as Pipik), played with energy and enthusiasm by Talya Soames. Throughout the action, broadcaster Emma Barnett plays local reporter, Emma Barnett (By Pass, Hospital etc) whose dulcet tones update the audience of key developments of the story.

Alongside the cast, is a well thought out sound track where even the song choices themselves are packed with knowing kosher connections. From the opening number, One Short Day in the Kosher Kingdom, to the finale, Moshiach, all played by the onstage band – Klezmer specialist and musical director Josh Middleton, alongside trumpeter and tuba player Oliver Presman and award-winning drummer Migdalia van der Hoven – there is no mistaking that this is a panto that joyfully celebrates Jewishness. It’s a fun, family-friendly show that works on many Jewish levels, making it perfect festive viewing for audiences of all ages.

Whilst Cinderella ends with a happy ending (spoiler-alert), Revenge: After the Levoyah begins with a death.

When twin siblings Lauren and Dan (non-identical) attend the funeral of their grandfather, they encounter East End gangster-type Malcolm Spivak, who has come not only to pay his respects but to recruit the pair into a cunning – though deeply ill-thought-out – plan to kidnap Jeremy Corbyn. This is Essex 2019, and Malcolm has ‘had enough’. Tired of the rise in antisemitism in the UK, and the fear felt by many Jewish people as a result, he considers the then-Labour leader Corbyn to be the chief aggressor and believes he must be taught a lesson.

Through this meshuge adventure – which sees the police, MI5 and even Mossad getting involved – Gemma Barnett and Charlie Cassen not only play the twins but every character from the gold-chain wearing Spivak himself, the DM wearing liberal female rabbi and frail yet lethal Holocaust survivor Moishe. The pair transition effortlessly between roles, often at breakneck speed, as the story gathers momentum.

Winner of the Edinburgh First Award 2024, Revenge: After the Levoyah directed by Emma Jude Harris, is thought-provoking, funny and well-observed. Like the panto, it is unapologetically Jewish, though here the laughs sit alongside something darker, showing that Jewish comedy can deliver big laughs whilst tackling serious issues.

Oh yes it can!

Book your tickets now, for JW3 panto and Revenge: After the Levoyah:

Cinderella and the Matzo Ball – runs until Sun 4 January
Revenge: After the Levoyah – runs until Sat 24 January at Soho Theatre

The post A double bill of kosher comedy appeared first on Essex Jewish News.

Theatre with an Essex twist

Micaela Blitz — Fri, 10 Jan 2025 12:11:20 +0000

Essex-boy Nick Cassenbaum’s madcap comedy heist, Revenge: After the Levoyah, returned to the Yard Theatre in East London on 9^th January for a 17-day run.

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

Dylan Corbett-Bader and Gemma Barnett in Revenge: After the Levoya Photo: Christa Holka

The post Theatre with an Essex twist appeared first on Essex Jewish News.

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A double bill of kosher comedy

Theatre with an Essex twist