THE YIDDISHISTS

OUR NEW SERIES DELVES INTO THE TREASURES OF THE WORLD’S BIGGEST YIDDISH ARCHIVE AT YIVO LONDON’S YIDDISH THEATRE The East End once boasted a dynamic and thriving Yiddish drama scene. Stefanie Halpern reports on the golden age of this unique theatrical experience

n 1945, playwright, producer and their native tongue. manager Abish Meisels staged an Early productions by the Hebrew Iadaptation of Abraham Goldfaden’s Dramatic Club, the first theatre in The Ten Commandments at the New London built specifically for Yiddish Yiddish Theatre in the East End. An plays, showcased the talents of actors Austrian refugee, Meisels immigrated such as Jacob P Adler, who would go on to London in 1938. Five years later he to become one of the greatest stars of the walked down Adler Street and entered Yiddish stage. Adler Hall. He turned a key, unlocking A poster from 1889 advertises on the doors to the New Yiddish Theatre. the same bill both ‘serious’ Yiddish According to Meisels, his mission was “to dramas as well as lighter fare: the present the best in Jewish drama; to keep Yiddish translation of the play Uriel alive the art of the Jewish theatre, and to Acosta by the German gentile writer inculcate into the minds of the younger Karl Gutzkow centres on the threat of generation a love and appreciation of Acosta’s excommunication from the their lives, customs, and language.” Jewish community; and A Slap for a Slap, The Ten Commandments chronicles is a comedy by Shomer-Shaikevitch. the struggle between the angel of good Many of the Yiddish companies changed and the angel of evil as it impacts on their repertoire weekly, with new plays the lives of two unsuspecting Jewish premiering on Saturday evenings and THE YIDDISHISTS couples. The angel of evil attempts running to Thursday night. Several to make the two couples break the Jewish communities in cities such as tenth commandment: “Thou shall not Manchester were visited by Yiddish covet thy neighbour’s wife.” However, troupes from Europe and America. goodness prevails and neither couple Meisels’ company was the last breaks their marriage vows. The play theatre in Britain devoted to Yiddish is about faith in the inherent goodness productions. It followed the Hebrew of man, and continuity in the face of Dramatic Club on Princes Street disaster through reuniting the family. (1886-1887); the Pavilion Theatre on Meisels’ production may have been Whitechapel Road (1906-1934); the salient for London’s post-war Jewish Temple of Art, known as the Feinman community. Many of his 20-person Yiddish People’s Theatre on Commercial company were refugees from Nazi- Road; the Grand Palais on Commercial occupied Europe, as were others of Road (1934-1970) and the Jewish London’s Jewish population. They found National Theatre at Adler Hall (1936- in Meisels’ theatre, as he put it, a “much 1939). The use of Yiddish declined as needed cultural, educational and social the community became assimilated. In centre,” and a sense of belonging. 1947, Meisels locked the doors to the New By the time Meisels opened his Yiddish Theatre for the last time. theatre in 1943, the Yiddish stage had The history of the UK’s Yiddish been in existence for nearly 70 years. theatre is preserved in the archive of Its story began in 1876, when writer the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, Abraham Goldfaden staged the first where Meisel’s collection as well as Yiddish theatrical productions in posters, scripts, and many other papers Romania and Russia. reside. The archive holds the keys to this Yiddish plays were first performed history – it also holds the actual keys to in the UK in the 1880s, concurrent with Meisels’ New Yiddish Theatre. n the mass migration of Yiddish-speaking Eastern European Jews to Britain. See: yivo.org. To learn more about Yiddish Poster for the Ten Commandments at the New Yiddish Between 1881 and 1914, nearly 120,000 of theatre, take YIVO’s Shine Online Educational Theatre, London, 1943; Poster advertising several Hebrew these immigrants entered the country, Series course, Oh Mama, I’m in Love: The Dramatic Club productions, including The Two Sergeants, Uriel Acosta, A Slap for a Slap, and The Kidnapped Child, most settling in the East End. These Story of the Yiddish Stage, curated by Stefanie London, 1889; Abish Meisels’ keys to the New Yiddish Yiddish-speaking Jews brought with Halpern: yivo.org/ohmama. Stefanie Halpern

Theatre, London, 1943 them the desire for entertainment in is Assistant Director of the YIVO Archives. JEWISH RESEARCH FOR INSTITUTE FROM THE ARCHIVES OF YIVO

46 JEWISHRENAISSANCE.ORG.UK JANUARY 2019