Review – Arc: A Trilogy of New Jewish Plays at Soho Theatre

Thursday, 17th August 2023 at Soho Theatre, London

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Reviewer: Emma Dorfman

The Arc: A Trilogy of New Jewish Plays, in the words of character Lynda (Caroline Gruber), just ‘sounds familiar’. It’s almost suspiciously too close to a play I would expect to encounter at a Saturday matinee at the Signature Theatre in New York City. It has all the heightened realism/naturalism of an Annie Baker play, but without answering the ‘so what’?

Maybe it’s because I grew up in a world much like this (I am Jewish, if you haven’t guessed by the last name already), but aside from some grounded performances, a talented cast, and clever, swift direction, I find myself struggling to find something remarkable about The Arc.

Presented by Emanate Productions, a company that has created ‘a platform for new Jewish writing in London, with the idea of bringing together both established and emerging artists’, The Arc is comprised of three different plays by three, very different, all Jewish, writers (Amy Rosenthal, Alexis Zegerman, Ryan Craig). The three plays tackle three different themes: Birth, Marriage, and Death. I was instantly thrown back to my days in Hebrew School, constantly circling back to the events of ‘The Jewish Life Cycle’.

Initially, I thought these themes might be a nod to that. And though there is the occasional hint of ritualism- the Kaddish blessing is said at the end of ‘Death’ to mourn a deceased hamster, and Adrian (Sam Thorpe-Spinks), in ‘Marriage,’ recites a very awkward Blessing over the wine when on a first date with Eva (Abigail Weinstock) – the production never fully goes there. At times, it seems as if the pieces want to be biblical (see the G-d-like moment in ‘Marriage,’ when Godfrey (Nigel Planer) booms, ‘Adrian and Eva: You have been chosen to propagate the human race’!), and that’s just what these moments are. Moments.

Despite the sprinkling of these moments and, perhaps, a lack of cohesion within these narratives, Kayla Feldman, as director, does a brilliant job at swiftly moving from one play to the next, making those transitions from ‘Birth’ to ‘Marriage’ to ‘Death’ seamless. You could hardly tell we were watching three different plays, save for the audience applause after each one.

Additionally, the performances by the cast were pointed, specific, and heightened without being too caricature-ish. Dorothea Myer-Bennett, who plays Naomi in ‘Birth’ and waitress Sara in ‘Marriage’ is a brilliant example of this. As waitress Sara, she tells you all she needs to about the character with the simple, incessant tapping of a pen to a notepad, or with the over-pouring of Eva’s wine glass. It’s not subtle, but certainly not overdone.

Ultimately, I would suggest that not much is Jewish here other than some (mostly cultural, Reform) Jewish characters and Jewish writers. I was quite excited to see some plays by Jewish writers in the UK and to learn what characterises British Jews. I find- rather shockingly, as an American Jew- that these voices are incredibly underrepresented in British theatre. And while there are moments when the trilogy aspires to be biblical or philosophical in a witty, ironic way, it never fully goes in that direction…

Arc: A Trilogy of New Jewish Plays is at Soho Theatre, London until 26th August 2023 – more information and tickets can be found here.

Images credit: Danny With A Camera