Family grief & political fault lines resurface in 'the holy rosenbergs'
A family gathers in London, not for solace, but for a reckoning. Lindsay Posner’s revival of Ryan Craig’s 2011 play, The Holy Rosenbergs, expertly unpacks the complexities of loss, identity, and the enduring shadow of geopolitical conflict.
A suburban drama unravels
The play centers on the Rosenberg family grappling with the death of their eldest son, who perished fighting for Israel. This tragedy reverberates through their lives, impacting their family catering business and exacerbating existing tensions. Daughter Ruth (portrayed with fierce intensity by Dorothea Myer-Bennett) is a lawyer investigating human rights abuses in the Gaza conflict, further fracturing the family’s already strained community.
Craig, known for his “comic tragedies,” delivers a production brimming with dark humor. The Rosenberg parents, particularly David (a wonderfully self-deluded Nicholas Woodeson), attempt to maintain a veneer of normalcy, obsessively fussing over catering while their world crumbles. Their efforts are both pathetic and darkly amusing.
Tracy-Ann Oberman’s portrayal of the family’s ever-present, slightly unhinged housekeeper, Lesley, provides a vital counterpoint to the family’s dysfunction. She attempts to hold everything together, even when her own stability wavers. Adrian Lukis as a legal grandee embodies the moral quandaries facing British Jewry, questioning Israel’s self-proclaimed role as “a light unto the world.”
The play unfolds over a single, fraught evening, punctuated by bursts of argument and poignant silences. It’s in these quieter moments – Woodeson’s inward gaze, the unspoken grief – that the play’s true power resides. The production arrives at a particularly resonant moment, as British Jewry navigates a complex and often painful relationship with Israel.
The Holy Rosenbergs is a sharp, unsettling examination of family, faith, and the impossible demands of belonging. It's a play that lingers long after the curtain falls.
Menier Chocolate Factory, London, until 2 May.