Indecent Tickets

Rather than being a play-in-a-play, Indecent dramatises the stories that surrounded a play’s opening over a century ago. Opinions have changed and viewpoints have shifted, but was Indecent an immoral take on society, or just ahead of its time.

In 1906, Polish-Jewish playwright Sholem Asch began writing The God of Vengeance, a Jewish drama about a brothel owner who wanted to marry off his daughter. During the play, scenes of a sordid nature take place, which had early twentieth-century audiences up in arms. Could The God of Vengeance be a work of religious defamation? Even though the play had its critics, it was Broadway-bound, making its US premiere in 1923. But when a theatre owner was convicted, the future of The God of Vengeance and indeed what could be told on stage became a court matter.

This is where the Indecent play steps in to continue the narrative. Debating whether The God of Vengeance is a piece of Jewish culture or traitorous libel, Paula Vogel’s drama tells the lives of those who risked their careers for the performing arts.

Rebecca Taichmann directs Indecent in London. Taichmann directed Indecent on Broadway, and won a Tony Award for her direction. A small klezmer band, playing traditional music of the Ashkenazi Jews, will play live music during Indecent. Original music in Indecent is by Lisa Gutkin and Aaron Halva.

Indecent was on Broadway in 2017, and was subsequently nominated for three Tonys. In an Indecent review for New York Theatre Guide, Michael Hillyer said: “Proudly Jewish and self-consciously theatrical… Mss. Vogel and Taichman work their transporting magic in plain sight… Indecent is pretty much just three boards, two actors, and one magnificent, transcendent passion.”

It’s coincidental that a play about a play which was argued about could have been stopped in London. But that’s what happened to Indecent. Indecent in London was due to open at the Menier Chocolate Factory in March 2020. However it was forced to suspend performances for 18 months due to the pandemic.