Where have all the theatre Jews gone?

GEOFF SIFRIN

Every week there is a new play to marvel at. But sadly, one sees very few kippot or secular Jews at the theatre these days, in contrast to previous times.

Why don’t mainstream Jews go to the theatre anymore? A father taking his child into a packed auditorium to see an enchanting play can change the child’s life forever.

Jews have always punched above their weight in the arts. The iconic Market Theatre which hosted multiracial protest plays during apartheid was founded in 1976 by the legendary Barney Simon together with Mannie Manim. Its productions such as Sizwe Banzi is Dead and Woza Albert, became staples of the resistance to racism.

Jewish theatre goes way back: In the early years of the 20^th century, vibrant Yiddish theatre was created by Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe, but as the immigrants and their offspring became assimilated into South African society, it faded away.

The famous production King Kong in 1959 was filled with Jews including Arthur Goldreich, Leon Gluckman, Stanley Glasser, Harry Bloom, Clive and Irene Menell and others.

While Jews continue to be active professionally in South African theatre, they are not nearly as dominant as they once were, and most are of an older generation, a reminder of what once was. And the younger ones are almost always firmly outside of the Jewish mainstream.

Notable among the former are Daphne Kuhn, owner of Sandton’s Theatre on the Square; Moira Katz, director of Parktown’s National Children’s Theatre founded in 1989 by Joyce Levinsohn; Phyllis Klotz, co-founder of theatre and dance company Sibikwa in Benoni; Jenny Reznek and Mark Fleishmann who run Magnet Theatre in Cape Town; and Percy Tucker who created Computicket for easy purchase of theatre tickets.

In the rapidly evolving South African society, theatre in languages other than English is becoming more prevalent – a welcome process to expose different South Africans to the cultures and views of others.

Afrikaans theatre has a prestigious history, helped by the existence of the performing arts councils during apartheid and continuing with stimulating new works today. An exciting new development is the staging in mainstream theatres of works in African languages such as isiZulu, isiXhosa, Sepedi and others.

Even for people who don’t speak those languages, some of the works are so masterful that they stand on their own merits.

With all the political and social tensions today, more than ever since the 1970s, theatre is crucial in giving a voice to people’s frustrations and creativity. Things happen quickly: just two weeks ago at the Baxter Theatre in Cape Town, a highly successful production called The Fall was put on by UCT students, facilitated by Clare Stopford, about the #FeesMustFall movement.

We can count on the complexity of our society and the multiple schemes of our politicians to continue providing rich material for new theatre. For that we should thank all – including President Jacob Zuma despite the rage he and his coterie elicit for their behaviour.

As the Jewish community shrinks and changes its character – becoming increasingly religious – the absence of young Jews in the arts is becoming more apparent. The 130th Young Artists Awards of the Johannesburg Symphony Orchestra this year comprised Afrikaans, black and Japanese performers – not a single Jew, which would have been unlikely in a previous era.

It is a shame and a disgrace. And a betrayal of real Jewish values and genius. Both the society and its Jews are much the poorer for it.

Read Geoff Sifrin’s regular columns on his blog sifrintakingissue.wordpress.com