OVERVIEW

• Playwright

  Rebecca Bartlett 

• Notes

  A play for 14-18 year olds about the contribution made by the immigrant Jewish community to the economic, social and cultural diversity of Northern Ireland in the 20th century.

• Synopsis

  Surviving the persecution of the May Laws raging in their Lithuanian homeland, Jews Miriam Kozetski and her son Yitzchak come to Belfast in 1896 to build a new life. Gradually they come to terms with the complexity of this new place they call home, though Miriam fervently guards her Lithuanian-Jewish identity while Yitzchak longs to be at ease with his peers as an Irish Jew. When it comes to the next generation, the preservation of identity takes another turn, proving both restricting and defining, while fresh challenges lie ahead for the larger Belfast Jewish community with the outbreak of World War Two.

• Play Type

  Theatre for Young Audiences
  

  Number Of Acts

  Full-Length

Cast size

• Male

  2

• Female

  3

• Total

  5

• Cast Notes

  The original production also included one musician and members of the cast performed as a chorus.

Original Production

• Date of First Production

  05 October 2000

• Producer

  Produced by Replay Theatre Company

• Venue Notes

  This play was first performed at the Belfast Royal Academy, as part of a tour to schools and venues.

Source Of Information

The information for this entry was taken from the original production programme. Additional information was supplied by Replay Productions from information contained in the company files.