Home truths from abroad beneath the desert sun in Paul Kember's abrasive comedy drama
Working on a kibbutz can be a culture shock even for Jewish youngsters – and I speak from experience. So the quartet of ill-assorted volunteers in playwright Paul Kember’s Not Quite Jerusalem – revived for the first time since 1982 as part of the Finborough's 40th anniversary season – can be forgiven for the disappointment that kibbutz life does not live up to their expectations of fun, sun, beer and sex. Hard manual labour in the broiling sun is the daily routine.
For their hosts, the culture shock is mutual. Laddish Pete and Dave, from Harlow and Yorkshire respectively, seemingly make no effort to meet the locals half way. In salty language they diss the food and accommodation, eye up the muscular female sabras (Israel-born locals), deplore their inaccessibility and what they see as less exciting women volunteers from other countries.
So the forbearance of Ami, kibbutz liaison leader, is as impressive as the amused contempt of Gila, a soldier on secondment to the kibbutz, is understandable. Her joshing contest with Cambridge dropout Mike unsurprisingly develops into a relationship. Meanwhile ex-nurse Carrie is determined that her glass is more than half full, from the moment she is enchanted by “the incredible overpowering smell of flowers” as she gets off the plane.
In fact, all four Brits are suffering from different degrees of anomie. For their generation, life in the UK is challenging, even for Mike with his more privileged background. There are parallels for today, with young people vociferous about the challenges they face, even if the uneasy relationship between Israelis and Palestinians is not touched on here, as you might expect.
Peter Kavanagh’s intelligent production is perfectly cast. Joe McArdle as Dave and Ronnie Yorke as Pete go for full-blooded renderings of riffs on their hosts. Pete’s quip, “Now I understand why a Jewish volunteer is about as common as a pork chop at a bar mitzvah” is one of the more printable witticisms. Calling female volunteers who reject their advances "tarts" may descend into sexism, but there are insights here. It’s not just Pete’s experience with chickens that becomes evident when he reports phoning his dad, but poignantly that this was their last conversation before his death.
What makes sparks fly is the Brits’ interaction with their Israeli hosts. In another extraordinary tirade from Pete, he reveals a working knowledge of Israeli history and the Balfour Declaration that helped bring the State into being. But rather than showing signs of offence, Gila’s reaction is to applaud enthusiastically and challenge Pete to "perform" his monologue for Volunteer’s Day, when the visitors are invited to share their culture.
Ailsa Joy wonderfully captures the abrasive no-nonsense attitude of the tough sabra Gila (‘prickly pear’). Her up-and-down relationship with Ryan Whittle’s conflicted Mike rightly shares centre stage. Russell Bentley is equally authentic as kindly, practical Ami, also not above winding up his unrewarding guests. Miranda Braun’s account of Carrie is pitch-perfect too, her comic attempts at bigging up her hosts and painting the desert landscape hiding real vulnerability.
Events in the Middle East may have moved on, but this award-winning comedy, hailed as refreshing and insightful at its 1980 premiere, is a worthy revival for the Finborough’s 40th birthday.
By Judi Herman
Photos by Kirsten McTernan
Not Quite Jerusalem runs until Saturday 28 March. 7.30pm, 3pm (Sat & Sun only). £18-£20, £16-£18 concs. Finborough Theatre, SW10 9ED. www.finboroughtheatre.co.uk
Listen to our interview with director Peter Kavanagh on JR OutLoud.