Plays - Introduction

Yiddish theatre repertoire ranged from comedy to tragedy, drawing on Yiddish folk tales and stories of immigrant life. The so-called father of modern Yiddish theatre, Abraham Goldfaden, wrote around 40 plays, including the opera Shulamith. In London, writers such as Abish Meisels and Harry Ariel kept interest in Yiddish theatre alive with new reperetoire, but the most popular new play was SJ Harendorf’s The King of Lampedusa which ran for six months during World War II. Existing plays were also adapted, with the works of Shakespeare being a particular favourite for translation into Yiddish.