Josh Azouz

Plays have a short life on stage - some turn into sensations and get staged again and again but most plays will have a very short life - a season or two and even then, noone is guaranteed that the play will not be cancelled. And when the play comes out from a small independent theatre, the whole future of the theater can depend on the play. So most will not risk a failed play again -- and most plays never get a second chance. Some plays get published on paper if one of the major drama publishers like it; it is there as script usually from the pure script companies but with the amount of drama being published, it needs even more luck. And an actor may get a single chance to show his talent.

The 2020 run of "The Mikvah Project" in Orange Tree Theatre, London was supposed to be its second -- the 2015 one in Yard Theatre, London (with different actors and director) was a success (or third if we count the Orange Tree's Directors' Festival, Summer 2019 as a run - apparently these are not counted as runs). It was supposed to run until March 28, 2020 and it was doing fine - until the world closed.

So what do you do with all the actors and all the work having been done? Bertie Carvel had an idea and set up the Lockdown Theatre Festival - send microphones to the actors of some plays, allow them to record and then mix all in the studio thus saving the season for a few plays. Not all plays can transition to "listen only" but some can - with a bit of a help. And on June 13/14, BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio 4 each played 2 of the 4 plays from this impromptu festival. The split was strictly by size - the 1 hour plays went to BBC Radio 4; the 2 hours ones to BBC radio 3 - as is pretty usual for new drama in the BBC Radio network. And "The Mikvah Project" ran on Radio 4, on June 14.

In the middle of the play is a love story - a 17 years old boy (Eitan) who is just starting his life and a 35 years old man (Avi), who is married and trying to have a child with his wife, meet every week in a mikvah (the Jewish ritual bath) and start talking - about life and football (soccer if you are in USA) and women. The mikvah setting serves the same purpose a neighborhood bar does for most men (or a coffee shop). But as both men are Jewish and religious, some of the conversation goes that way as well. Until a day when they kiss -- and nothing will be the same after that. Nothing is that easy though - Avi needs to decide what is the best for him and his wife and there are no easy choices in such situations. And through the play (and the passage of time - the last parts are months after the opening weeks of Fridays), Eitan has to grow up as well and understand the meaning of love and life. And the end (both of the play and the end of the decision making process for each man) may not be exactly what you expect. Or you may know where it is going - although the play allow the ambiguity all the way to the end.

After I listened to the BBC version, I wondered how different it is from the theatrical one - there was a lot of weird exposition, actors narrating (including about themselves in the third person), actors talking to the public, a lot of internal monologue, some of which I could imagine as actions. And some probably was. But the online reviews of the actual play talk about the same thing. So it does not seem like that was just because it had to transition to radio. The theatrical plays run for 1 hour and 10 minutes (or so it is billed anyway); this version is 55 minutes and I imagine most of the difference is in the changing sets and in some movement around the stage.

It is a weird play in some ways - almost stream of conscience in some places, almost underdeveloped in others. An exploration of "heart" vs "brain" -- a genre that had been used by pretty much any playwright out there, a reconciliation of tradition and inner peace and part of one's daily life. It is also one of those plays I can imagine being better on paper than on stage (as weird as that sounds) -- because these weird expositions and change of narrative voices work better when you do not hear them from the same two actors. I am considering getting the written play and reading it later this year - to see if that feeling is correct.

Overall a somewhat disturbing and imperfect play that may not be for everyone but I am happy that it was given this second life. And I liked what I heard enough to go look for other plays from the same author.… (mehr)