REVENGE: AFTER THE LEVOYAH

Soho Theatre

★★★

“chaotic and irreverent”

What do you get when you mix action movies, gangsters and Judaism? ‘Revenge: After The Levoyah’ of course, a mad farce that tackles antisemitism through breakneck comedy and slick multi roling. Though the structure and escalation leave me wanting more, the show’s originality and audacity make for a refreshing seasonal offering.

In pre pandemic Essex, Jewish twins Lauren and Dan mourn their grandfather who – unbeknownst to them – was more than your average butcher. When ex-associate Malcolm Spivak turns up to offer condolences – and end Jeremy Corbyn’s antisemitism by kidnapping him – they steer clear. At least, until neo-Nazi harassment forces them back, plunging them into murder, abduction and chaos. Can they escape before they’re in too deep?

Nick Cassenbaum’s ‘Revenge: After The Levoyah’, winner of a Fringe First at Edinburgh 2024, earns its buzz with an irreverent script blending sincerity, politics and farce. Two actors conjure a chorus of characters, with some hilarious transitions and characterisations. Genuinely touching moments are mixed into the levity. That said, the reliance on Jewish archetypes and untranslated Yiddish leaves some humour beyond my reach. Some of the many gangsters fade away, and the two main characters lack meaningful development beyond Lauren’s radicalisation. With Corbyn captured too easily and his imprisonment falling short of true farcical chaos, the stakes and absurdity never quite launch, leaving the ending feeling incomplete.

Emma Jude Harris’ direction, with fight direction by Robin Hellier, ground the play in realism before spiralling into chaos, demonstrating crisp comic timing and well judged shifts in pace. Yet what initially feels like a hard left at Corbyn’s capture fails to go full mettle, leaving the climax lacking oomph and shading the irony with perhaps unintended darkness. Also, I find framing the stage with two bookcases of unused props somewhat puzzling. That said, the use of lighting and sound succeed in evoking the pulse of an action movie, transporting us convincingly from Essex to somewhere more fantastical.

Alys Whitehead’s set and costume design is simple yet striking, keeping the focus on the actors as they flit between characters. The initial sparseness evokes the solemnity of a levoyah (funeral), with a few items of furniture effectively creating new spaces and even characters. The towering blackboard is a hilarious addition though feels underutilised, as do the bookcases of untouched props. The ripped, grimy costumes immediately foreshadow the chaos to come.

Amy Daniels’ lighting design, with associates Abigail Sage and Graham Self, proves effective and arresting. Shifts in tone convey changes in mood, with pops and flashes punctuating dramatic peaks. The gameshow style sequence adds irony to the introduction of the motley crew of gangsters.

Adam Lenson’s sound design, with musical supervision by Josh Middleton, integrates effects seamlessly, earning laughs in their own right. Music and ambient cues – from helicopters, police sirens, and more – conjure an action film. Foreshadowing the ironic final music is a clever touch, underscoring the stark contrast between the play’s beginning and end.

Gemma Barnett and Charlie Cassen embody twins Lauren and Dan respectively as well as a host of other characters with impressive commitment. Their slick transitions and strong physicality make the entire cast believable. Their stage presence is magnetic, aided by deft shifts in pace, and their dynamic movement maintains momentum across the performance.

‘Revenge: After The Levoyah’ is chaotic and irreverent, if in need of a little development. Though for anyone eager to step off the seasonal path, this could be just the ticket.

REVENGE: AFTER THE LEVOYAH

Soho Theatre

Reviewed on 11th December 2025

by Hannah Bothelton

Photography by David Monteith-Hodge

REVENGE

★★★★

“performances fit to grace any opera house”

When Emperor Nerone falls in love with the ambitious Poppea, their toxic romance becomes Rome’s ultimate power play. She’s ruthless, he’s unhinged, and together they’re unstoppable, leaving bodies and broken lives in their wake as Nerone divorces his wife Ottavia to crown his mistress empress. It’s a study in humanity’s capacity for ruthless ambition cloaked in the language of love. HGO’s superb production of Claudio Monteverdi’s masterpiece demonstrates why this company has earned back-to-back Offie Awards.

The plot unfolds like a telenovela. It’s a big mix-up involving murderous rulers, darkly comical servants and mistaken identity that wouldn’t be out of place in Shakespeare. As a matter of historical fact, Nerone murdered Poppea, rather than elevating her to Empress. Busenello’s libretto offers a rehabilitation, a ‘what-might-have-been’ where love conquers all, though at terrible cost.

Director Ashley Pearson delivers a minimalist production that trusts Monteverdi’s music and Giovanni Busenello’s cynical libretto to carry the drama. With little stage furniture and Sorcha Corcoran’s stripped-back set design, the focus remains laser-sharp on the performances. Sofia Alexiadou’s lighting design works to magnificent effect, sculpting the space and illuminating the psychological warfare unfolding between characters. Alice Carroll’s costumes feature light touches of 1980s styling, perhaps a nod to that era’s own excesses and power plays.

Two performances transcend an already strong ensemble cast. Theano Papadaki in the title role is a revelation—a Poppea of calculated ambition matched by a beautiful voice that makes her manipulation utterly seductive. Her final coronation feels both triumphant and unsettling, exactly as it should. Equally outstanding is Jasmine Flicker as Drusilla, bringing genuine pathos to the woman caught in Ottone’s obsession with Poppea. Flicker possesses a voice of exceptional beauty and uses it with intelligence and emotional authenticity.

The eight-piece HGOAntiqua baroque ensemble under Seb Gillot’s musical direction does a fine job with Monteverdi’s score. The theorbo (played by Kristiina Watt)—like a long-stringed bass guitar—joins viola da gamba (Kate Conway), violone (Jude Chandler), and portative organ (Seb Gillot) to create an authentic sound. The original orchestration may have included more wind instruments, but the ensemble creates rich textures nonetheless. This is music from the era of Greensleeves, beautiful and tender, culminating in the sublime final duet “Pur ti miro”.

Monteverdi’s vocal casting is rather top-heavy. Only Seneca provides a bass voice, and his character dies at the end of Act One. More characters with lower ranges would have been an easy win. Perhaps this limitation is only noticeable for an audience exposed to opera’s later golden age, when it was corrected with such great aplomb. Of course, any fault here is not with this production, but with the score itself.

The supporting cast handles the opera’s complex web of betrayals with apparent ease. The working-class characters—guards, nurses, attendants—inject knowing commentary, reminding us that the powerful destroy lives with casual indifference.

HGO continues its impressive mission to give young singers essential professional experience. This production demonstrates why that matters: these are real talents at the start of promising careers, delivering performances fit to grace any opera house.

Tag Archives: Robin Hellier

REVENGE: AFTER THE LEVOYAH

★★★

Soho Theatre

REVENGE: AFTER THE LEVOYAH

Soho Theatre

★★★

“chaotic and irreverent”