Even before the lights go down, you can sense an air of intrigue and a possible fear of the unknown.
The theatre has been stripped back to its bare walls and the stage is now a simple performance space with the audience seats forming sloping rakes each side. The walls are covered with the Star of David and Islamic moons. The floor is covered in psuedo-primitive outlines of the human form, alien and awkward.
Rikki Beadle-Blair has written a play that is both poetic, rhythmic and mesmerizing. Superb characterisation and the way in which the actors portray those characters – especially Tom Ross-Williams ands Richard Simons – bring this hectic story to life, switching between the 1930s and the ‘80s seamlessly via fantastic lighting and sound effects.
The story effortlessly blends issues of racial tension, interclass and mixed ethnic marriage, gay acceptance, religious tolerance with persecution both on a physical and psychological level. It is clear from the way these themes are explored in the play that the author has precise and poignant views.
The characters all possess ghosts from the past that are paraded to great effect via a script which is also full of yiddisher zingers; even when the play delves into the subject of ethnic cleansing the clear message is that there has to be hope, and survival is possible despite what is thrown at you.
Rikki is also keen to impart to his audience a sincere history lesson that is provocative, powerful and damming of our forbears. Did you know that the Ku Klux Klan in American also hung Jews, and the fact that German Jews who had fought for the fatherland during World War 1 had been totally erased from the ‘new order’s’ history books. And let’s get real, Israel is actually Palestine. All these remarks resulted in audible gasps from an enraptured crowd.
This play is superbly constructed, and where parallels are drawn between the two decades the play is set in, the audience is reminder that prejudice and discrimination sadly still form part of our society and can result in catastrophes.
Without doubt Shalom Baby is an important play that explores in both a touching and very funny way the issues of love, family and friendship. Le’chaim! (to life).
Rating: 4/5
• Theatre Royal Stratford East, Gerry Raffles Square, E15 1BN.
• Runs to 19th November.
• Box office: 020 8534 0310 and www.stratfordeast.com
