This new work from Shimmy Braun explores the pernicious impact of being homophobically insulted at a tender age.
You don’t have to be fluent in Yiddish to know that Faygele probably isn’t the sort of word that should be thrown around lightly, let alone used against a son at his Bar Mitzvah by his own father.
That’s the premise behind a new play of the same name written by Shimmy Braun that’s on at Marylebone Theatre from the end of April until the end of May. Ari Steed — played by Ilan Galkoff, a former Adrian Mole in the recent stage adaptation of his famous diaries — is the teenager in question and the script recounts the impact that his father’s hurtful words had on him. And yes, Faygele is exactly what you think it means — slang for faggot, the Yiddish word originally means ‘little bird’.
Clara Francis, Ilan Galkoff and Ben Caplan Photo by Michael WharleyThis is one of the latest shows from Thomas Hopkins Productions, which has been the driving force behind some of the capital’s most thoughtful theatre recently, including Song From Far Away, Rose, Stalled and the upcoming This Bitter Earth, directed by Billy Porter.
”I am delighted to be directing Faygele,” says director Hannah Chissick. “Whilst rooted firmly in the Orthodox Jewish community, the play is ultimately about self-acceptance and though it has a queer character at its centre, it will also resonate with anyone who has found themselves at odds with their upbringing or marginalised within their own community.”
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