Nice Jewish Boy. Hope Theatre.

The challenges faced by young LGBT people brought up in traditionally conservative cultural or faith communities is a rich seam for drama. Recent months have seen tremendously effective musings on the subject in the Hope Theatre’s The Light Trail and the Bush’s The P Word. Josh Maughan’s one-man show Nice Jewish Boy lacks the flare and narrative complexity of either of these recent plays. But the 60-minute work, presumably semi-autobiographical, still offers a compelling and deftly put together reminder of the toll which engrained homophobia can take on gay men of faith.

It is Josh’s 19^th birthday, but the former head boy of a Jewish high school in Cape Town, now resident in London and fetchingly bedecked in a fierce pink crop top, has more on his mind than gifts. Specifically, he is recovering from a long night sniffing poppers and canoodling with ‘daddies’ on Hampstead Heath. He also has his sights set on flirting with the dishy local Rabbi Feldman and a drug-fuelled evening at a gay dance club to look forward to. But Josh’s insistent mother keeps calling. Aside from asking him whether he has a girlfriend, Mum has news of his birthday present which she just cannot keep to herself. The extended family have clubbed together and purchased a speechless Josh an all-expenses paid pilgrimage to Israel. Given that the lad is very nearly “as angry with God as with his ex-boyfriend” this is a recipe for some serious soul-searching. Just what does faith mean to Josh, and what does he want to say to the kind of God who finds it so hard to make space for gay men in the Jewish faith?

Maughan helpfully provides the audience with a handy printed glossary to refer to during the show. Side A features some need-to-know Hebrew for non-Jews (helpful if you do not know your Habonim from your Hatikvah). Side B has a similar guide on queer language for non-queers (helpfully distinguishing Twinks from Bears). It is a nifty way of making a central point: Josh’s task is to find his own unique way of reconciling two cherished communities that, quite literally, speak different languages. Director Jake Samson sets the action on a black and white chequered chess board, populated with constantly shifting white cubes. There is feeling here that Josh has a tough game to play if he is to find a way of being the Mensch that he, in his heart, wants to be.

Nice Jewish Boy has a kind and inclusive message. Look hard enough and even in the most conservative of cultures you can find a role-model that speaks to you. It is a point that is worth listening to, and here it is delivered with quite some charm by a witty and spirited performer.

Writer: Josh Maughan

Director: Jake Samson