Miryeml was heralded as a powerful memorial to the million children murdered in the Holocaust. This nearly-forgotten modernist masterpiece is available in English translation for the first time.
Tea Arciszewska was a dazzling figure in the prewar Warsaw Yiddish culture scene – an actress, dramaturge, salon hostess, and muse to the renowned Yiddish writer I. L. Peretz.
In the 1920s, she began writing a play about the experiences of children during the pogroms that followed World War I. She worked on it for decades, first publishing Miryeml in 1958.
Yiddish critics praised the play, seeing it as a powerful response to the Holocaust. They recognized the character Miryeml as an extraordinary figure in Yiddish drama. Miryeml received an Alexander Shapiro Prize from the Congress for Jewish Culture for best Yiddish drama.
Miryeml is a modernist work that deftly integrates twentieth-century history and Jewish folklore into a narrative about children’s response to trauma, challenging our expectations of Yiddish theatre.
As far as we know, the play has never been performed; hence, this will be the world-premiere! Directed by Leo Doulton, this staged reading will be performed in Sonia Gollance’s new English translation.
Cast
- Heloïse Lowenthal (MIRYEML)
- Em Lawrence (TSIRELE)
- Sarah Boneysteele (ROKHELE / BOBE / MOTHER / MADAM PRESIDENT / FEMALE PEDDLER)
- Hannah Bristow (MOTELE / SHOLEM)
- Alexis Peterman (BOREKHL / BUTCHER'S WIFE / FEMALE CUSTOMER / LANDLADY)
- Tamara Micner (LEYZERL / BUTCHER / SCRIBE / KHAYIML)
- Kaeridwyn Eftelya (DOVIDL / MEYLEKHL / RABBI / SHIFRELE / YENKL / REFUGEE MAN)
- Laura Wohlwend (MENAKHEML / BLIMELE / CANTOR )
The translation of this play was supported by a Translation Fellowship from the Yiddish Book Center.
Content Notes:
The play includes descriptions of violence, sexual assault, parental loss, antisemitism, and starvation. Characters experience starvation, antisemitism, and there are on-stage deaths as a result of illness and hunger. Some of this involves children. Characters refer to mental illness and gentiles in impolite ways, and a gunshot is heard early in the play.
Check out the full Season of Yiddish Theatre■
24 January: Secrets of the London Yiddish Stage
Due to popular demand, Secrets of the London Yiddish Stage is back for one night only!
With its entertaining mix of readings from one-act plays, sketches, and songs from London’s immigrant East End, you won't want to miss this!
24 January 2024, 7:30pm
22 February: Mirele Efros by Jacob Gordin
One of the greatest hits of the Yiddish stage, Mirele Efros is called the 'Yiddish Queen Lear' for its depiction of a fierce and complex matriarch.
Featuring a company of leading British-Jewish actors, this reading will be directed by Richard Beecham, followed by an audience Q&A and Yiddish extracts directed by Tamara Micner and featuring Tamara Micner & David Schneider.
22 February 2024, 7:30pm
25 February: Yiddish Theatre Workshop - Mirele Efros
In this workshop, we will learn about Mirele Efros - one of the great Yiddish plays, known as the 'Yiddish Queen Lear'.
We will also discuss the history of Yiddish theatre in London and around the world. And we will read and act out extracts from Mirele Efros in the original Yiddish with English translation.
This workshop is suitable for people with all levels of Yiddish (including complete beginners) and all levels of theatre experience (including complete beginners)!
Note: This workshop is connected to JW3's season of Yiddish theatre, including an English reading of Mirele Efros.
25 February 2024, 1pm - 3pm
6 March: Miryeml by Tea Arciszewska
Miryeml was heralded as a powerful memorial to the million children murdered in the Holocaust. This nearly-forgotten modernist masterpiece is available in English translation for the first time.
As far as we know, the play has never been performed; hence, this will be the world-premiere! Directed by Leo Doulton, this staged reading will be performed in Sonia Gollance’s new English translation.
6 March 2024, 7:00pm
Series funded in part by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), part of UK Research and Innovation