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The original production of 'Bad Jews' was a hit in 2016. The same production is being revived in redirected form for 2022. This review is from 2016.
Family tensions are bound to run high when a loved one dies. But in this hilarious new comedy from Joshua Harmon, you frequently wonder whether a tragic death might actually provoke a bloody murder.
Three cousins are lumped together in a one-room apartment in New York because ‘the most important person’ in their family, their Holocaust survivor grandfather, has died. Bright-if-difficult Daphna is a hardliner when it comes to her faith. To the other extreme is uptight Liam, who wilfully avoids being defined by Judaism. Then there’s quiet man-in-the-middle Jonah, Liam’s younger brother, who says little and finds himself torn between the other two. Oh, and just to really mess things up, Liam’s well-meaning – if slightly simple – atheist girlfriend is thrown into the mix.
It’s a recipe for absolute disaster and Harmon cleverly builds to a cataclysmic bust-up, the catalyst being an heirloom that both sides want for very different reasons. The fight between Daphna and Liam is the push and pull between the traditions and heritage of religion and the homogenisation of modern Western culture. But it’s also a play that looks more universally at grief, loss and legacy and how easy it is to lose sight of other people.
Jenna Augen is magnificent as Daphna, relentlessly pick-pick-picking away at her cousin with exceptional comic timing. And she is by no means unbearable, as Augen adds real depth to the character. The rest of the cast are also strong, with Ilan Goodman providing a gobsmacking early explosion of frustration.
Michael Longhurst’s direction is excellent: smart, fast, and allows just the right amount of space to the script’s more reflective moments. The funny, shouty bits never detract from the play’s debate. In all, it’s a riotus evening of familial love and hate.