In an odd warehouse conversion where his son and daughter live with a strange assortment of inhabitants, a Jewish father joins his children for a Christmas Day meal. Elliot, a secular Jew, represents a generation for whom identity and allegiances are largely unquestioned. His children, however, inhabit a far less certain world. His daughter Tamara is urgently searching for spiritual answers and openly challenges Israel’s actions, even as her former boyfriend has found a new sense of himself through Israeli nationalism. On the other hand, Elliot’s son Noah, who has a non-Jewish girlfriend, is adrift, struggling to locate himself within the tradition that shaped him but no longer anchors him. Sam Grabiner’s Christmas Day explores what it means to be Jewish in contemporary Britain, asking whether it is possible, or even desirable, to maintain or reconcile ethnic, religious, and cultural identity in an assimilative society. While rooted in a specifically Jewish experience, the play’s questions about reconciling heritage and faith with a sense of belonging in a wider community should definitely resonate with other minority groups. As Elliot, the indulgent yet quietly bewildered father navigating his children’s uncertainty, Nigel Lindsay gives a finely judged performance that avoids stereotype. This portrayal is perfectly complemented by Bel Powley’s intense, almost neurotic Tamara and Samuel Blenkin’s gentle but unmoored Noah. Despite its near two-hour running time, James Macdonald directs the extended single-act play with sustained assurance and momentum. With Christmas Day, playwright Grabiner offers a rich and fulsome intellectual repast that proves deeply satisfying.
Rated: ★★★★
Reviewed by J.C.
Photo by Marc Brenner
When, Where, Getting there:
,%20Julian%20Ovenden%20(Charles%20Nichols)%20-%20by%20Manuel%20Harlan%20(2).jpg)
%20Alex%20Brenner,%20no%20use%20without%20credit,%20Jawbone%20-%20If%20Destroyed%20Still%20True%20@%20Hope%20(_1DC4059_dx).jpg)
