The Stage

Two Thousand Years

Published Friday 16 September 2005 at 16:55 by John Thaxter

Theatre’s best kept secret and a source of speculation for months, Mike Leigh’s new play sold out its entire run even before being given its title.

His first work for the stage since 1993, the final product is a funny but warmly touching story of secular Jewish parents struggling to cope with their son’s fierce new dedication to the Hebrew faith. Set against recent world events over the last couple of years, this is a strongly-cast evening to delight and enthral, but one that also reflects our loss of ideals.

Caroline Gruber and Allan Corduner play Rachel and Danny, middle-aged liberals with a comfortable life in Cricklewood, who return from holiday to find that their bearded son Josh (Ben Caplan) has donned a skullcap and clutches the Torah while moodily going through silent prayers in the conservatory. “It’s like having a Muslim in the house,” says dentist Danny, fond of cracking Jewish jokes, while Rachel struggles with the prospect of having to cook kosher meals.

Rachel’s ageing father Dave (John Burgess), a former socialist kibbutzer, almost chokes over an emphysema attack followed by a several cigarettes, while chuckling at his surly, work-shy grandson, a 28-year-old maths graduate who offers no explanation for his newly-acquired zealotry.

The arrival of Alexis Jagerman as Josh’s sparky younger sister Tammy, an Amnesty translator, strikes a refreshing note of cynical optimism, while her Israeli boyfriend (Nitzan Sharron) brings clear-eyed views about the shaping of events on the Gaza strip. But the late incursion of Samantha Spiro as Rachel’s frenzied, long lost sister, throws a dramatic curve in the second half from which the play never entirely recovers, seemingly unconnected with the quietly domestic chess-playing resolution which follows.

But is this a finished piece? Leigh develops his work through improvisation, first sending his actors out to research their characters then selecting and shaping the play in the rehearsal room. As an ongoing process - the first two previews were cancelled for further work - it seems likely it will continue during the early days of the run.