Details

A landmark play in the history of post-war British theatre, Chicken Soup with Barley is a political drama based upon Wesker's own experiences of growing up in a Jewish family in the East End of London. Spanning three decades, it documents the effect of post-war social issues on Jewish families such as Wesker's. For the Kahn family the Promised Land is neither the Jerusalem of their forebears, not the basement flat they live in now. Their dreams of a better world is sustained by the vitality of the community around them, and is put to the test in the anti-fascist riots of the 1930s. History begins to take its toll as the mother's ideals and resilience contend with a father's weakness in a deeply moving portrait of the forces that drive us apart, and the ties that bind us together.

Cast/Performers

Robert Benfield (Hymie), Russell Bentley (Prince), Rachel Edwards (Ada / Bessie), Caroline Lennon (Cissie), Shona Morris (Sarah), Daniel Rabin (Monty), Simon Schatzberger (Harry), Nitzan Sharron (Ronnie / Dave)

Creatives/Company

Author: Arnold Wesker
Producer(s): Nottingham Playhouse, Tricycle Theatre
Director: Giles Croft
Design: Dawn Allsopp