Jewish Resilience at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival
Joely Spevick shares her experience at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the world’s largest arts and performance festival, highlighting Jewish performers’ cancellations and their resilience.
As someone who loves theatre and comedy, I was thrilled to be attending the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this summer with my parents and a close friend. For those that don’t know, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival is the largest performance, arts and culture festival in the world. From August 1-25 this year, every nook and cranny of Edinburgh’s city centre bursts with theatre and stand-up comedy, magic and music. It’s eclectic and vibrant and thoroughly enjoyable. Big names and shows have been discovered at the Edinburgh Fringe, from Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag) and Six The Musical. Across the whole month, nearly 3,500 shows took place, so when it came to choosing what to see over the two and a half days we were staying, it was safe to say I was overwhelmed with choice!
Scouring the options, however, I came across a few shows by Jewish comedians and performers which had the word ‘Jewish’ in the title - Rachel Creeger: Ultimate Jewish Mother, or Jew-O-Rama by Philip Simon. Post-October 7th and the global rise in antisemitism, everyone has had various ways of expressing their Jewish identity. Some people are loud and proud; others are more quietly and cautiously Jewish. For the most part, I would put myself in the more wary category, so seeing these performers unapologetically announce their Judaism was definitely empowering. In a world which, more often than not, feels hostile and unwelcoming, it was refreshing to know that the Edinburgh Fringe Festival was a place that accepted not only Jewish people but Jewish art and culture. I noted down these shows and excitedly anticipated our visit.
Fast forward to the beginning of August, a week before our trip, and I’m reading an article about how the venues hosting these various Jewish performers have suddenly cancelled them all. Whilst the venues claimed to have substantial grounds for this, it was easy to read between the lines, and, as Rachel Creeger poignantly put it, the cancellations came down to ‘what we bring to that venue by being ourselves.’
This was a very disheartening turn of events, especially from a festival that supposedly boasts inclusivity, representation and diversity. If you want to read more about their own feelings on this, you can follow them on Instagram (@rachcreeger and @philipscomedy) or read a great article in the JC:
Fortunately, the performers were able to relocate their shows, and we attended Rachel’s show on 12th August. It was brilliant. Her whole ‘shtick’ is that she is the Ultimate Jewish Mother, and the Ultimate Jewish Mother can answer any question—ever. Dressed in Superwoman colours, complete with hostage pin, Magen David necklace and hostage dog tag—the ultimate Jewish mother. Before the show begins, she hands you a piece of paper asking you to write a question for the Ultimate Jewish Mother, which she then places into a huge (empty!) chicken soup pot before randomly selecting questions to answer light-heartedly. It was highly original and incredibly wholesome. Rachel is funny and genuine and I recommend seeing her if you ever get the chance. I appreciated knowing that there were non-Jewish people in the audience—she welcomed those members with open arms. It’s reassuring to know that there are people curious to learn about Jewish culture and who are not turning their backs on us.
Despite the great time, at the back of my mind was the fact that this show almost didn’t happen, purely because Rachel is Jewish. And it definitely wasn’t just me with these thoughts—one of the first things Rachel asked was, ‘Is anyone here antisemitic?’, joking that they had ‘probably walked into the wrong show’. But that question blatantly revealed how vulnerable we, as Jewish people, are currently feeling. Not to mention that the next day, to add to her tumultuous Fringe journey, Rachel posted a picture of the sign outside her show, which someone had vandalised by burning the word ‘Jew’ out of ‘Jewish’.
Rachel wrote in the caption, ‘I am not letting this break me, but I’m not going to lie, it’s a tough day,’ exuding immense resilience and illustrating why the need for Jewish representation in the arts space is so important right now. As theatre-goers and consumers, we also play an important role. I cannot sing or dance or act (I wish!), so I do my part by watching, supporting, and shouting to the rooftops about how everyone else needs to watch and support them! I hope that next year at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Jewish performers do not face the same discrimination or hostility, and I hope I get to see all of their fantastic shows!
