Review: THE HOLY ROSENBERGS, Menier Chocolate Factory
Manuel Harlan
A very timely revival comes in the form of Ryan Craig's The Holy Rosenbergs at the Menier Chocolate Factory. First staged in 2009 in the midst of a war between Israel and Palestine, the play has been reawakened by director Lindsay Posner in a time where the ongoing crisis is as relevant as ever.
Set over the course of a single day, we are welcomed into the living room of the family home. Beautifully constructed to resemble a middle-class household, with brilliantly vibrant carpets and a showy dinner table. All the action takes place in the same location, offering a true glimpse into the Rosenberg family life.
At its core, The Holy Rosenbergs is a family drama. Each member of the Rosenberg family has their own personal plot points which is showcased over the course of a day of turmoil. One of the sons, Danny, has been killed whilst fighting in Israel for the IDF. Each Rosenberg deals with this grief in different ways. From the human rights lawyer sister Ruth (a firebrand performance by Dorothea Myer-Bennett) to the devastated mother Lesley (played with a frenetic energy by Tracey-Ann Oberman)
The true star of the show is the script. Grounding the show in realism, with dark moments cut through with biting comedy. Without some fantastically believable performances, the show wouldn't be as successful as it is. Tracey-Ann Oberman shines as the matriarch of the family, trying to hold everything together whilst her world seemingly falls apart, both personally and professionally. The father David (brilliantly portrayed by Nicholas Woodeson) is a bag of nerves, barely dealing with a collapse of respect from his community and his children not turning out how he dreamed they would.
As the day progresses, we learn even more about each member of the family. David is financially insecure, his business falling apart, the youngest son - Jonny - is in a spiral of violence and alcohol, Ruth is torn between her Jewish heritage and her career and Lesley is on anti-depressants, not truly living in reality, but painting a picture of idyllic bliss.
The Holy Rosenbergs has an air of Arthur Miller about it, a group in turmoil, secrets being gradually revealed as the day progresses and a family unit at its core. The tone of the play is a peculiar one. For a production that features such harrowing ideas, it flitters between serious musings to comedy. The humour is used to relieve tension and does an incredible job of doing so. However as the evening progresses, the humour becomes sparse.
A moment in Act Two after a particularly numbing discussion regarding the war in Gaza shows the father cutting through the debate with a monologue which grinds proceedings down to reality. Reaffirming his grief and the human lives so deeply affected by the crisis. This is tenderly performed by Woodeson whose subtle performance never loses the realities of the damming cost of war. The pace never falters. It zips along and, after establishing the characters motives, also drips in information pertaining to the plot whilst keeping the action constantly moving forward.
All in all, The Holy Rosenbergs offers not only musings on a delicate matter, but a sliver of the human lives and communities affected, all whilst being a successful production with top-tier characterisation.
**** Four stars
Reviewed by: James Springthorpe
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