By Rachelle Unreich
You could say Yiddish is having its moment, which is odd for a language that originated among Ashkenazi Jews some time in the 11th century.
In Shtisel, an award-winning TV show about the ultra-religious Jewish community in Israel, characters speak a mixture of Hebrew and Yiddish, which is largely old Germanic dialect. An all-Yiddish version of Fiddler on the Roof is currently playing off-Broadway, and later this year, Carnegie Hall will put on From Shtetl to Stage, celebrating old and new Yiddish culture.
From left, Evelyn Krape, Simon Starr and Galit Klas in the library at Kadimah Yiddish Theatre.
CREDIT:CHRISTOPHER HOPKINS
Melbourne is no slacker in the Yiddish arena, boasting the largest number of Yiddish speakers in Australia. It’s also home to Kadimah Yiddish Theatre, the team behind the production Play Me A Poem. At the National Theatre for one night, it will feature well-known musicians and composers such as Deborah Conway, Lior, Willy Zygier and Josh Abrahams creating original songs on stage to Yiddish poetry.
