Faygele at Marylebone Theatre Review
Written by Becky for Theatre and Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review
This production contains themes of homophobia, abuse, and suicide.
Marking its world premiere at Marylebone Theatre, Shimmy Braun’s Faygele is a heartbreaking story on identity, faith and isolation. Directed by Hannah Chiswick, the 90-minute drama is accompanied by compelling acting and timely moral messages. Inspired by true events, Faygele sheds an important light on the devastating effects of homophobia within an Orthodox Jewish community.
The story follows the adolescence of Ari Freed (Ilan Galkoff), who first experiences homophobia at the age of 13 when his father calls him “Faygele” (aYiddish derogatory term for the word ‘faggot’) at his Bar Mitzvah. Still in his adolescence, Ari then enters a battle he did not ask for, tackling the complexities of his faith and identity whilst navigating his fracturing relationship with his family.
Galkoff, who addresses the audience as Ari retrospectively, begins by directly saying that his story is ‘a tragedy’. Indeed, audiences quickly interpret that Ari’s story has a gut-wrenching end, with his struggles leading to the decision to take his own life. Braun writes how reading Ari’s true story compelled him to write this production, with the aim to ‘give voice to what he might have said if he had been heard’. With this, the script is very angry, offering little respite from the onslaught of rejection Ari faces from his family, religion and potential love interests.
His father’s brutal last words to him - “do us a favour and disappear” - act as a catalyst for Ari’s suicide. The final scene is set during Ari’s funeral, where Rabbi Lev (Andrew Paul) reads in front of his peers the suicide note Ari left, ending the show with a breakout of remorse from those who turned their backs on Ari. This harrowing ending was didactic, if a little blunt.
Whilst some of the drama lacked subtlety, Braun’s intentions of showing the fatal impact of ostracisation is clear and well-executed. The strong character work from the ensemble also complements this. Paul’s compassionate presentation of Rabbi Lev shows kindness towards Ari, while also demonstrating a lack of understanding of his identity and therefore a rejection of him due to his beliefs. Likewise, the helplessness of Ari’s mother - played emotively by Clara Francis - highlights the inability to stand up to his abusive father, ultimately driving Ari out of the family household.
Overall, Faygele is a deeply personal production, where Braun’s passion and fury is evident. As we head towards Pride Month, this show is an important opportunity to learn the lived experiences from LGBTQI+ people, and serves as a moving tribute to the teenager it’s based on.
At Marylebone Theatre until 31 May 2025
★★★
