30 August 2016

A play written by Liberal Judaism staff member Aaron Abraham, and starring Beit Klal Yisrael’s Paul Bloomfield, has won rave reviews from the critics.

Screens – which runs at London’s Theatre 503 until Saturday – focuses on a Turkish-Cypriot family barely treading water, clinging onto a sense of self and identity as it suddenly begins to unravel in today’s world of social media and instant gratification.

Aaron writes under the name Stephen Laughton. Screens is his second play, following on the heels of the critically acclaimed Run.

The Stage, Britain’s premiere theatre newspaper and website, enthused about the production – giving it four stars. Reviewer David Hutchison wrote: “Strong performances, slick staging and a unpredictable script elevate this timely drama about identity.”

He added: “Stephen Laughton’s well-observed script examines how we control, alter and delete ourselves to suit the ones we’re with – proud leftie to class snob, supportive sister to homophobic abuser.”

Another four star review came in The Jewish News, which described the show as an “explosive exploration of the relationships within a family who are all struggling to accept and understand their individual identities, heritage, sexuality, nationality and place in society.”

The LGBTQ Arts Review and Boyz Magazine both gave the play five stars, calling it “beautiful”, “sharp”, “stunning” and “important”.

Other publications praising Screens include What’s On Stage, The Upcoming, The Reviews Hub, Reviews Gate, Londontheatre1.com, Everything Theatre and Exeunt Magazine.

Leading critic Aleks Sierz recommended the show to his readers, saying: “Many plays feature digital devices, but few that pack as tight a punch as Stephen Laughton’s aptly-titled Screens.

“By wrapping this family drama in the garb of current debates about digital distress and national identity, Laughton delivers a powerful vision of where we are at the moment.”

To book tickets for Screens, please visit https://theatre503.com/whats-on/screens/

[Picture by Pank Sethi]