SUBTEXT – A COMMISSION
FOR JCC FOR LONDON

ARTS

COMMUNITY

EVENTS

We were commissioned by the JCC for London to create an event which would reinterpret the Jewish holiday of Purim making it relevant for new younger audiences.

Purim is a celebratory holiday filled with stories and marked with parties and festivities. In 2012 the holiday fell on the same date as International Women’s Day. We commissioned four women writers of different backgrounds to explore and re-imagine the Purim story through the eyes of women who were part of it. Irma Kurtz, Eleanor Greene, Tania Hershman and Rachel Rose Reid each gave their own particular and unique perspective. We then worked with the theatre company Paper Scissors Stone to transform an East End bar into a marketplace where stories could be bought and sold. Each audience member took a different journey and discovered a new take on the traditional Purim tale.

“Subtext brought the magic of Purim to a 21st century audience. The evening weaved together new narratives created by women and brought them together in a unique, pop-up theatre setting. This was enhanced by interactive story-telling, live music and a relaxed, bar-based location.”

ATIRA WINCHESTER, JCC FOR LONDON