Writers
Many of the most important Yiddish writers of all time turned at least a hand to playwriting. For some it was their primary focus, for others it played second fiddle to writing fiction, poetry, reportage, or in other genres. Yiddish drama runs the gamut from hastily written hack work to some of the greatest masterpieces of Yiddish literature, and of world drama.
November 12, 2018
Interview: A New Translation and a New Press
We were interested to learn recently not only about the publication of a new translation of a noteworthy Yiddish play, Moyshe Nadir’s Meshiekh in amerike (Messiah in America, 1932).
July 5, 2018
Zylbercweig’s Leksikon and Selfridges’ Rump Steak: In Memoriam Harry Ariel
In this tale of Łódź and London, David Mazower remembers the Yiddish actor Harry Ariel and a life-changing association with theatre historian Zalmen Zylbercweig.
May 24, 2018
Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Act on the Stage
Matchmakers and the Yiddish dramatic repertoire––the latest Plotting Yiddish Drama batch shows why this combination is a perfect match.
February 27, 2018
The Yiddish Dramatic Repertoire: A User’s Guide
The narrator of Thomas Wolfe’s 1935 story “Only the Dead Know Brooklyn” begins his snarky account of an encounter with a man exploring the borough by proclaiming, “Dere’s no guy livin’ dat knows Brooklyn t’roo an’ t’roo, because it’d take a guy a lifetime just to find his way aroun’ duh goddam town.” Replace “Brooklyn” with “the Yiddish […]
January 9, 2018
Revival and Homage Productions of Yiddish Theatre
There’s something about the popular entertainment of the 1880s-1930s that draws people to fool around with creative ways of making it contemporary.
December 11, 2017
Goodbye, Columbia: A Yiddish Playwright and the German Stage
Pinski came to prominence as a Yiddish writer and playwright, yet his connection to German theatre and cultural life was strong.