Not Quite Jerusalem

Finborough Theatre, 118 Finborough Road, Kensington, London
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Event has ended
This event ended on Saturday 28th of March 2020
Admission
Previews (3 and 4 March) £14 all seats.
£10 tickets for Under 30's for performances from Tuesday to Sunday of the first week when booked online only.
£14 tickets for local residents
Venue Information
Finborough Arms
Finborough Road, SW10 9ED
Nearest Tube/Rail Stations
West Brompton 0.27 miles

Not Quite Jerusalem by Paul Kember

The first new UK production for 40 years

“All I’m talking about is this. Democracy. Having a say in your own affairs. Taking decisions about your own lives ...It’s not like that in England.”

In a production commissioned by the Finborough Theatre to celebrate its 40th anniversary with a play written in the year the Finborough Theatre opened, the first new UK production in 40 years of Paul Kember’s award-winning 1980 comedy-drama.

It's 1979, and Mike, Carrie, Pete and Dave have fled grim, divided England for the sunshine, sex, beer and bagels of a Israeli kibbutz. Only to find that what was supposed to be a working holiday is more like hard labour in 100-degree temperatures.

Pete and Dave soon alienate themselves with their foul-mouthed, high-spirited behaviour. Carrie desperately tries to fit in, but cannot relate to either her fellow-countrymen or the Israelis. Only Cambridge drop-out Mike seems able to articulate what it means to be young, conflicted, English, and a very long way from home. Until, that is, he meets no-nonsense kibbutznik Gila…

First presented at the Royal Court Theatre in 1980 where it broke box office records and revived there in 1982 (with casts including David Threlfall, Phil Davis, Kevin McNally, Selina Cadell and Bruce Alexander), Not Quite Jerusalem won first-time playwright Paul Kember the Evening Standard Most Promising Playwright Award.

This production contains strong language.

“Extremely funny.” Daily Telegraph

“Remarkable comedy.” Punch

“Exceptional.” The Times

“Sparkling… A winner.” Variety

“Almost continual laughter… funny, truthful, caring play.” Daily Mail

“More salient points about our attitudes to each other, to foreigners, and to ourselves, than any play I’ve seen in years… Sharply observant…very funny.” Time Out

“A stunningly promising debut…Packed with honest observation and comic detail… a lovely study of post-adolescent uncertainty.” The Guardian

“Full of wit, compassion and understanding.” Daily Express

“Glorious.” Jewish Chronicle

“Brilliant.” The Spectator

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