REVENGE: After the Levoyah Review

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In 2018, the simmering row over antisemitism in the Labour Party reached a boiling point. The spring saw the anti-Corbyn "Enough is Enough" protests in Parliament Square, which was followed by a fiery debate over whether Labour should adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism with ALL its examples. Tensions peaked over the summer when three Jewish newspapers published a joint editorial accusing Jeremy Corbyn of posing an "existential threat" to Jewish life in Britain. By August, former MP Margaret Hodge was comparing Corbyn’s Labour to Nazi Germany.

With relentless media coverage suggesting every British Jew was at risk if Labour took power, it didn’t seem too far-fetched to imagine that some fanatic, whipped into a frenzy by the headlines, could take matters into their own hands.

That's the premise of REVENGE: After the Levoyah, a new comedy from acclaimed playwright Nick Cassenbaum (Bubble Schmeisis; My Kind of Michael; Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Pig), currently showing at the Edinburgh Fringe. The show, directed by Emma Jude Harris and produced by Becky Plotnek, has a two-person cast. Actors Dylan Corbett-Bader and Gemma Barnett play every character, switching between roles with remarkable dexterity. The story kicks off in Essex, where twins Dan (Dylan Corbett-Bader) and Lauren (Gemma Barnett) meet ex-gangster and general nogoodnik Malcolm Spivak at their grandad’s funeral. Malcolm, declaring he's had enough of Corbyn's antisemitism and spurred by his own ticking clock (he’s apparently dying), concocts a daring plan to kidnap the former Labour leader. 

From there, the plot takes a hundred hilarious twists and turns. Malcolm and the twins, helped by a motley crew that includes a 94-year-old Holocaust survivor, a Hasidic landlady from Stamford Hill, and a liberal rabbi, manage to capture Corbyn. The dialogue flies fast and furious as Corbett-Bader and Barnett seamlessly swap between characters, amplifying the propulsive sense of chaos.

Their heist quickly unravels as rival kidnapping gangs, each driven by their own motives for ousting Corbyn – his anti-imperialism, pro-Palestine stance, plans to tax the wealthy – arrive on the scene and clash over who should get custody of the MP for Islington North. When you strip away the slapstick tug-of-war spectacle, the scene feels reminiscent of the political reality of that period: various groups – from Labour's right wing to the Tories and the Murdoch press – had different reasons for opposing Corbyn, but they united around the antisemitism narrative to undermine the Left, all while posing as principled anti-racists. The goal was to make the allegations against Corbyn stick, no matter how outlandish. 

Eventually, Dan questions the entire mission: Is Corbyn even antisemitic? No one seems to know. In a brilliantly telling moment, the liberal rabbi admits she’s always liked Corbyn and only joined the kidnapping to appease her angry congregants. This line, like many in the show, perfectly captures the absurd, topsy-turvy tone of antisemitism discourse during those years, which has arguably worsened since.

Through its side-splitting humour, rather than didactic politics, the show offers razor-sharp commentary on antisemitism, Jewish representation, and the dangers of mass hysteria. For Jewish leftists still processing the trauma of those years, this might be exactly the release you need. ▼

REVENGE: After the Levoyah is playing at Summerhall Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2024 from August 1-26. You can find details here. 

Aron Keller is an editor at Vashti Media.