3 performers · 90 minutes
The Jewish Question
One Shabbat, three positions
Synopsis
After a massive peace march, two Jewish journalists spend the evening in Grace’s Venice kitchen for Shabbat. Over dinner, vodka, family history, politics, Israel and Palestine, pacifism, aging, and desire turn one evening into an argument about what Jewish identity demands and whom we owe care.
At a glance
What a producer needs firstCast
3 performers
Running time
90 minutes
Genre
Contemporary drama
Technical demand
Moderate
Availability
Script on requestLicensed through Upstage Left Press
Characters
3 performers to cast
Grace, 77
A Kindertransport survivor and lifelong peace activist. Warm, funny, formidable. Rebecca’s paternal aunt.
Rebecca, 30s
A professional photojournalist. Passionate, pacifist, intelligent, politically engaged.
Ash, 30s
A political journalist with convictions about Israeli sovereignty, Jewish safety, and US foreign policy.
Staging and technical requirementsModerate
Grace’s kitchen in Venice, California, on a Friday evening in spring 2004. A kitchen table and a Shabbat meal are central. Projections, cyclorama, music, sound, candlelight, and Shabbat ritual support the atmosphere.
What you will need
- A company of 3 performers
- A slot of 90 minutes
- Technical capacity described as moderate
- A performance licence, granted separately from the script
Themes
What it is really aboutI write plays to entertain in the truest sense of the word: to give serious attention to people, questions, and histories that are too often pushed aside.Jeanmarie Simpson, artist statement
In the classroom
A three-hander that gives a seminar a genuine argument with no straw man in it. Three roles across three ages, one location, and a discussion that continues after the curtain.
From the archive
Select any photograph to enlarge
Performance rights
Stage it
Rights are available for universities, schools, community theatres, festivals, workshops, staged readings, and independent productions.
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