The hideousness of Caryl Churchill’s 10-minute contemptible play Seven Jewish Children, currently at London’s Royal Court Theatre, has been expertly pulled apart here and here.
Surprise, surprise – The Guardian loves this Jew-bashing play! Its theatre critic Michael Billington – whether out of naivety or bigotry it is hard to know – overlooks the distortions, lies and racism that dominate the play and instead cheers it warmly.
The language he uses in the review is nearly as revealing as that in the play itself. Swallowing Churchill’s lie that Israeli children are taught to hate Palestinians (it’s demonstrably the other way round but never mind), he writes that she “shows us how Jewish children are bred to believe in the ‘otherness’ of Palestinians”.
Bred? Why the deliberate choice of a dehumanising word to describe Jews, Mr Billington? And why did you say Jewish children, not Israeli children?
Billington gets even more farcical. He reviews another play on the same page, and praises it for “getting behind the lazy media stereotyping”. Well, he’d know all about that.
It is easy to shrug off people like Caryl Churchill and Michael Billington as a bunch of silly luvvies, whose Jew-bashing is essentially harmless. But as more and more violent antisemitism sweeps the United Kingdom, this horrible pair should hang their heads in shame.
I've Seen It And It Sucks
http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/theatreblog/2009/feb/11/royal-court-theatre-gaza?commentid=8c280f80-3bda-41d6-95df-5e1a0a27f741
Look at this fawning sycophant.
‘courage’??
Has the Chief Rabbi mobilised 10,000 into Sloane Square to shout ‘Death To Churchill’ and throw their shoes at the actors as they go through the stage door, then?
12 February 2009 at 9:35 AM
annie
Looks like the Guardian readers are a lot more sensible than either the playwright or the reviewer. Hard to believe, I know, especially if one reads the comments on any Israel-related at Comment is Free, but the comments on this review are 99% pro-Jewish, pro-Israel, and against the play and the critic’s review.
Small comfort but it gives me heart.
13 February 2009 at 7:52 AM
Chris
The Times loves it too.
14 February 2009 at 10:33 AM
Caryl Churchill’s ‘fetid, smug, self-congratulating’ play | Oy Va Goy! (Chas Newkey-Burden)
[...] Hart of the Sunday Times has penned a mesmeric review of Caryl Churchill’s ludicrous Seven Jewish Children [...]
15 February 2009 at 9:51 AM
fahrrad
Dies ist ein gro
8 March 2009 at 4:28 PM
fussball
Gute Arbeit hier! Gute Inhalte.
9 March 2009 at 3:06 PM
Seven Other Children (and the shame of the Royal Court) | Oy Va Goy! (Chas Newkey-Burden)
[...] Jewish Children, the sinister little piece by Caryl Churchill that was performed at the Royal Court in February? Well, the benefit of any doubt over the Royal Court’s intention in putting it on has surely [...]
11 April 2009 at 11:20 AM