WORLD PREMIERE
CLING TO ME LIKE IVY
By Samantha Ellis
Directed by Sarah Esdaile
Thursday 11 – Saturday 27 February 2010
Press Night: Monday 15 February 7.00pm
Cling To Me Like Ivy receives its world premiere at Birmingham Repertory Theatre on February 15 (previews from February 11). In this warm-hearted and funny play about love, marriage and belief playwright Samantha Ellis traces how three different generations cope when an ex-Spice Girl throws a community into turmoil.
Cling To Me Like Ivy follows the personal journey of Rivka who wants the perfect wedding. She has the man, the dress, the wig and only two weeks to go. But when doubt is cast on her wig everything starts to unravel and Rivka finds herself far from home, stuck in a tree and caught up in the eviction of anti-road protestors, not knowing whether she’ll be able to return, or whether she wants to.
Commissioned by The REP this witty and thought-provoking play was inspired by a chance remark by Victoria Beckham in 2004 which inadvertently sparked a crisis within the Orthodox Jewish community about the wigs (‘sheitels’) worn by married Orthodox Jewish women.
Asked in an interview if her hair extensions came from Russian prisoners forced to shave their heads, Ms Beckham joked that she had half Russian Cell-Block H on her head. In the ensuing fuss it emerged that most hair on the international market came from the Tirupati Temple in India and might therefore contravene Jewish law if it were used in the wigs worn by married Orthodox Jewish women.
The idea came to Samantha Ellis in 2004: “I was working part-time in Joseph's Bookstore in Temple Fortune (in North London) when ‘Sheitel-gate’ began, and for two weeks it was all anyone wanted to talk about.
“Rumours began that hair was coming from a Hindu temple in India and wouldn’t be allowed under Jewish law. Then a rabbi was said to have gone on a fact-finding mission to the Tirupati temple in Andhra Pradesh to interview bemused barbers.
“Soon there were bonfires of wigs on the streets of London, Jerusalem and New York. The New York Times called it “an emotional upheaval within [the] Orthodox Jewish community” and that's how it felt to me; the shop was full of women wanting to discuss it, and the debates were fierce and passionate.”
Samantha Ellis's plays include Patching Havoc (Theatre 503), A Sudden Visitation of Calamity (Menagerie Theatre at the Junction), Startle Response (Young Vic workshop), Sugar and Snow (Hampstead Theatre and BBC Radio 4) and Martin's Wedding (with Blind Summit, at BAC).
Directing Cling To Me Like Ivy will be Sarah Esdaile who recently co-directed Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials at The REP. Her other recent credits include Life x 3 (The Watermill); The Horse Marines (Drum Theatre, Plymouth); Drowning On Dry Land (Salisbury Playhouse); Kafka’s Dick (Watford Palace) and The Grouch (West Yorkshire Playhouse).
The cast for Cling To Me Like Ivy is Emily Holt (Rivka), Mona Goodwin (Leela), Amanda Boxer (Malka), Edward Halstead (Shmuley), Gethin Anthony (Patrick) and David Hartley (David).
The production will be designed by Ruari Murchison with lighting by Simon Bond, music composed by Simon Slater and sound by Clive Meldrum.
Cling To Me Like Ivy was developed with the support of the European Association for Jewish Culture. Following its premiere at Birmingham Repertory Theatre the production will tour the region and the UK, supported by the Sir Barry Jackson Trust.
Listings Information
Cling To Me Like Ivy
Thursday 11 to Saturday 27 February
The Door, Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Centenary Square, Broad Street, Birmingham B1 2EP
Performance Times: 7.45pm (Mon-Sat), apart from Mon 15 Feb at 7.00pm.
Matinees at 2.45pm on Sat 20 and Thu 25 Feb.
After Dark – free post-show discussion with the acting company: Wed 24 Feb
BSL Interpreted Performance: Wed 24 Feb with Alban Welch
Tickets: £10 with concessions available
Box Office: 0121 245 2072 Online Booking: www.birmingham-rep.co.uk
Tour Dates
Wed 3 March 7.30pm
The Venue, Walsall College Wisemore Campus, Littleton Street West, Walsall WS2 8ES
Box Office 01922 657000 ext 8585
Fri 5 March 7.30pm
Wem Town Hall, High Street, Wem, Shropshire SY4 5DG
Box Office 01939 237075
Sat 6 March 7.30pm
Little Wenlock Village Hall, Much Wenlock, TF6 5BG
Box Office 01952 505888
Tue 9 March 8pm
Lincoln Performing Arts Centre, University of Lincoln, Brayford Pool, Lincoln LN6 7TS
Box Office 0844 888 4414 Book Online: www.lpac.co.uk
Wed 10 March 7.30pm
Styrrup Village Hall, Serlby Road, Styrrup, Doncaster DN11 8LT
Box Office 01302 752515
Thu 11 March 7pm
Ashfield School, Sutton Road, Kirkby in Ashfield, Nottingham NG17 8HP
Box Office 01623 455000
Fri 12 March 7.30pm
Tealby Village Hall, 2 Beck Hill, Tealby, Horncastle, Lincolnshire LN8 3XS
Box Office 01673 838718
Tue 16 to Sat 20 March 7.45pm
Drum Theatre Plymouth
Box Office 01752 267222 Book Online www.theatreroyal.com
Mon 22 & Tue 23 March 7.45pm
The Lowry, Pier 8, Salford Quays, Salford M50 3AZ
Box Office 0843 208 6010 Book Online www.thelowry.com
Thu 25 & Fri 26 March 8pm
The North Wall, South Parade, Summertown, Oxford OX2 7NN
Box Office 01865 319450 Book Online: www.thenorthwall.com
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