An outrageous new musical is due to land at Camden People’s Theatre later this month. Written by acclaimed writer and composer Uri Agnon, Antisemitism: a (((musical))) explores the antisemitism encountered by an Israeli Jew in their first 24 hours in Britain. This fast-moving political satire promises to sing and dance its way through one of the most explosive topics in British politics today.
Antisemitism: a (((musical))) blends gasp-out-loud Jewish humour and genre-bending music to tackle centuries-old hatred towards the Jewish community in a no-holds-barred production. Agnon’s musical plays on the strong Jewish tradition of musicals to explore anti-Jewish hate and discrimination. The show draws inspiration from renowned Jewish composers including Stephen Sondheim, Leonard Bernstein and Kurt Weill, continuing the long tradition of Jewish creators and musical theatre. Agnon dexterously combines music with dark humour to explore this hot-button topic.
Antisemitism: a (((musical))) stars Maya Kristal Tenenbaum (The Band’s Visit, Donmar Warehouse) as the protagonist, who is taken on one hell of a ride from Tel Aviv airport through London, from bickering aunts to inept kidnappers. Arriving in Britain in pursuit of a calm life, our unsuspecting hero is thrown into a rollercoaster journey of absurd situations, encountering prejudice on all sides. The hero is confronted by discrimination, British subtext and euphemism, and tries to find the meaning of Jewishness.
Joining Tenenbaum on stage are Hannah Bristow (Jane Eyre, National Theatre) and Amy Parker (Ride, VAULT Festival). The creative team consists of writer and composer Uri Agnon, director Emma Jude Harris, musical director David Merriman, set and costume designer Cory Shipp, lighting designer Amy Daniels, movement director Amy Lawrence, video designer Adam Lenson, and movement consultant Adi Gortler.
Agnon said, “I started working on this show four years ago. I kept hoping for this show to become a little less relevant, feel a little less urgent. It never did. Now feels as crucial time as ever to ask what it means to be an ‘other’, to look at how hate moves and shifts through history and politics, to search for hope though solidarity and to laugh in the face of bigotry.”
Isreali composer, writer and activist Uri Agnon creates work that explores the boundaries between theatre, music and politics, and themes of identity, Jewishness and activism. Agnon’s works have been commissioned and performed at major music festivals, art galleries, theatres and demonstrations including the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. His work includes the chamber opera Word Problems, which is composed entirely of Israeli school textbooks, and the oratorio Custodian, which was staged as a direct action on the doorsteps of the Jewish National Fund. Agnon is undertaking a PhD with the University of Southampton, following undergraduate and postgraduate degrees at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, researching the activist potential of new music, and the new music of radical activism. Agnon has worked with UK music groups including Riot Ensemble, and Antisemitism: a (((musical))) marks his UK theatre debut.
Antisemitism: a (((musical))) is at Camden People’s Theatre from 17 October until 28 October.
