Bad Jews

Joshua Harmon’s corrosively brutal comedy Bad Jews takes the dynamics of a dysfunctional family to the extreme. The day after their grandfather Poppy’s funeral, in a cramped New York studio apartment, two Jewish brothers, their cousin and a gentile squabble over a piece of religious jewellery that belonged to the deceased. Throughout his internment in a concentration camp Poppy hid the Chai (which in Hebrew means living) from the Nazi’s under his tongue. When he got to America and found the love of his life he gave her the Chai instead of a ring to signify his love. The historical significance of this act is thrown into the spotlight when the eldest brother Liam wants to give it to his gentile girlfriend Melody.

Diana, or to use the Jewish equivalent which she prefers Daphna, is a young uber-Jew who wears her religion like a second skin, is moving to live in Israel when she finishes college to be with her Israeli army boyfriend who may or may not be real. Disdainful of her cousin Liam, who she accuses of not taking his religion seriously, she’s a shark who attacks at the least or even no provocation. She wants the Chai and believes as the only truly devout Jew in the family, she should have it. But Liam, who already has it in his possession, thinks otherwise. Jonah, the younger brother, doesn’t want to be involved, but like it or not he is.

It’s a scenario ripe for explosion and explode it does, although it takes a while for the laughs to come in director Gary Abrahams truthful realisation of Harmon’s script. Maria Angelico’s Daphna is a verbal tidal wave. Whether being accusatory of Liam for missing the funeral because he dropped his iPhone on a ski lift in Aspen, or accusing Melody’s family of historically committing an indigenous massacre in Delaware, she walks a delicate fine line between audience hatred and sympathy. It’s a finely nuanced performance. Simon Corfield’s Liam gives as much as he gets in the verbal battle, and also manages to imbue the self-absorbed character with some humanity, whilst Matt Whitty’s Jonah conveys more with less lines than any other character. His retreats to the wall or under the bedclothes while the others bickered were insightfully hilarious. As the brunt of many of the verbal ripostes Anna Burgess’s Melody came over as sweet and sincere, and scored with an excruciating version of Gershwin’s “Summertime.” A hit in New York and London, this tight production arrives at the Cremorne after two highly successful seasons in Melbourne and one in Sydney. It deserves its success.

Bad Jews introduces a new commercial producer and production company to Brisbane, Aleksandar Vass and Vass Theatre Group who were instrumental in the three theatre set-up at the Alex Theatre, St Kilda, Melbourne. If future productions attain the standard of Bad Jews then let’s hope their foray’s North to the Sunshine State are more frequent.

Peter Pinne