London, UK. 01.05.2025. Make It Shimmy Productions, presents FAYGELE, by Shimmy Braun, at the Marylebone theatre, London. The cast is: Ilan Galkoff (Ari Freed), Ben Caplan (Dr Freed), Clara Francis (Mrs Freed), Andrew Paul (Rabbi Lev), Yiftach Mizrahi (Sammy Stein). Directed by Hannah Chissick, with set & costume design by David Shields, and lighting design by Nic Farman. Photograph © Jane Hobson.

REVIEW: Faygele

Published on by Savinay Sood

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Heartbreaking and Profound

SPOILERS AHEAD

At a time where LGBTQ+ rights are being threatened, Shimmy Braun’s Faygele is timely. The show follows the adolescence and death of Ari Freed as he navigates homophobia within an Orthodox Jewish community. The story is a tragedy, and Braun is uninterested in attaching a fairy tale ending onto the story. There are debates to be had about the sensitive depiction of teen suicide, but Faygele is effective at depicting the devastating consequences of homophobia. 

The cast are all truly excellent which reflects well on Hannah Chissick’s ability as a director. Ilan Galkof who plays Ari is a revelation. The show simply would not work without him. Compelling and expressive, the character is three dimensional. He is funny and likeable without being perfect. He feels real, and that is the central reason the show works. Clara Francis’ portrayal of his mother, unable to help her son, is simply heartbreaking. 

The complex relationship between faith and identity has long fuelled queer theatre. What Braun is able to do is to capture the nuances highly effectively in the show. He is not content to villainise faith, Rabbi Lev (Andrew Paul) is portrayed sympathetically, he is doing his best with the resources and the knowledge that he has available. Braun was a member of an Orthodox Jewish community until his adulthood, and the show comes from a place of knowledge and empathy. Braun created a show that was inspired in part by his own experiences, and in part on the experiences of a teenager who committed suicide. The show is grounded and based on real experience. It is not sensationalist.

London, UK. 01.05.2025. Make It Shimmy Productions, presents FAYGELE, by Shimmy Braun, at the Marylebone theatre, London. The cast is: Ilan Galkoff (Ari Freed), Ben Caplan (Dr Freed), Clara Francis (Mrs Freed), Andrew Paul (Rabbi Lev), Yiftach Mizrahi (Sammy Stein). Directed by Hannah Chissick, with set & costume design by David Shields, and lighting design by Nic Farman. Photograph © Jane Hobson.

The show is well designed, the Marylebone is not the largest theatre but set and costume designer David Shields makes use of simple and effective wooden furniture to create a range of spaces. This helps the show flow through a range of times and spaces as we move through Ari’s adolescence.  

Faygele reminds us to be angry. It reminds us why fighting for a kinder, more accepting world is important. Nobody should die the way Ari does.

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