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The early decades of the twentieth century were the heyday of Yiddish theatre
in London. The Pavilion Theatre became the immigrants' playhouse; it was one
of London's largest Victorian theatres and was equipped with machinery to
equal that of any West End theatre. Between 1906 and 1934 Yiddish theatre
provided the main attraction at the Pavilion and it became "the most remarkable
place of entertainment in the country" (Pall Mall Gazette, 1908).
The Yiddish theatre of the early twentieth century was remarkable for the
range of its repertoire, the versatility of its actors, and the enthusiasm
of its audiences. A new play might be performed every night of the week, and,
with little time for extensive rehearsal and few professional directors to
interpret and stage the plays, the Yiddish theatre was very much an actors'
theatre.
Four actor-directors dominated the history of Yiddish theatre at the Pavilion.
They were, in chronological order: Sigmund Feinman, Maurice Moscovitch, Joseph
Kessler and Fanny Waxman.
After Feinman's death in 1906, many Jewish people in the East End contributed
towards the building of a theatre in his memory. The Feinman's Yiddish People's
Theatre, also known as the Temple of Art, opened in March 1912, one of the few
purpose-built Yiddish theatres in the world. It was intended to serve as a centre for opera and drama of the highest standard, and staged a number of lavish productions. But high costs led to ticket prices beyond the means of the East End public, and the Temple of Art closed after six months.
In the years just before and during the First World War, Pavilion audiences
regularly welcomed another star of the American Yiddish stage, Maurice
Moscovitch. He was a highly popular figure in America and Europe, renowned
in Yiddish theatrical circles for his marvellous diction and intelligent
approach to the classic roles. Moscovitch eventually made his English-language
debut in 1919, playing Shylock in James Bernard Fagan's production of 'The
Merchant of Venice'.
The 1920s and 1930s were a period of intense creativity in the Yiddish
theatres of Poland and New York. Several notable companies and actors visited
the Pavilion Theatre, such as the Vilna Troupe and Maurice Schwartz's Yiddish
Art Theatre Company. However, Yiddish theatre was sustained by the resident
London actors who regularly appeared there. By the 1920s many if the actors
had been working together for over twenty years and they formed a close knit
community. The regulars included Joseph Markovitch and Becky Goldstein, Joseph
Sherman and Jenny Kaiser, Dinah Feinman, Fanny Waxman, Surele Landau and the
musical director, Professor Ferdinand Staub.
Yiddish theatre continued to give enormous pleasure to its patrioten in the
interwar period, but the enthusiastic faithful diminished yearly. Demographic
and social trends were the main cause: there was no significant immigration
of Yiddish speaking Jews and the new generation was more anglicised, resulting
in a decline in spoken Yiddish. Also, Jewish people were moving in increasing
numbers to the suburbs of North London, while cinema represented a powerful new
attraction. Audiences at the Pavilion gradually declined, and in 1935 it was
forced to close.
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