Nick Cassenbaum’s two-hander comedy heist, directed by Emma Jude Harris, romps through 2018 Jewish Essex. Through madcap comedy and biting satire, this explosive tale blows the roof off what it means to be Jewish in the UK. Twins Dan and Lauren meet ex-gangster Malcolm Spivak at their grandfather’s funeral. Malcolm, who’s ‘had enough’, enlists the siblings in a ragtag Yiddishe plot to kidnap then-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
REVENGE: After the Levoyah examines antisemitism in the diaspora, the dangers of collective hysteria, and how far one nonagenarian can throw a jar of chraine from a moving vehicle.
Q&A with Nick Cassenbaum
How does it feel to be heading to Edinburgh Fringe?
How does it feel? The anxiety is rising, the sweat is dripping, the bowels are straining. Thinking, why am I doing this? Is this the right thing to do? Is it worth it? The answer of course is yes… I think. I have been coming on and off for years with different shows. From Bubble Schmeisis where I invited people on stage to wash me, to My Kind of Michael, my love letter to Michael Barrymore. Even had a spat of street performing on the Royal Mile swallowing cucumbers. But now I am not performing, but having written it… feels fantastic!!!
What can you tell us about your show and its inspiration?
This show, REVENGE: After the Levoyah. Set in 2019 it is about Dan and Lauren who when their grandpa dies get enlisted by ex-gangster Malcolm Spivak in a plot to kidnap the then labour leader. The show is about radicalisation, hysteria and what it has felt like being Jewish in the UK over the last ten years. It is funny, really funny, satirical and as heimisha as a pickle.
How do you think audiences will react to the show
The show is fast. It travels quickly and goes to a lot of places. I was certainly breathless after seeing it on its feet. People will laugh, people will disagree with some of what it is saying, Some people will feel seen by what they are seeing. Some will want to see it again. But who knows? Everyone will hopefully take something different but one is for sure…they will leave knowing more Yiddish than they had done before seeing it.
How have you been preparing for the festival?
Preparing? I’ll do that the night before leaving.
Will you get a chance to enjoy the rest of the festival?
I hope so…god I hope so.
