The conventional path for plays in which a plethora of clashing thoughts and ideologies are presented to an audience in a dramatically tense environment is that a significant milestone event, such as a wedding or a funeral, effectively forces people together for an extended period, who would not otherwise wish to interact with one another. This play, then, has a curious premise: a Jewish family comes together on Christmas Day, in a large property which was once an office space but is now a shared living space, and everyone present is there out of choice. After all, Christmas, for obvious reasons, is not a religious festival observed by Jews, so this is a gathering of convenience – ‘everyone’ else has the day off, so they might as well meet up, catch up, eat and enjoy one another’s company.
Perhaps predictably, the last of those ambitions quickly dissipates, as there is even disagreement on whether they should spare all of ten minutes on a day where there is little, if anything, to do watching the King’s Christmas Day Speech. Brother and sister Noah (Samuel Blenkin) and Tamara (Bel Powley) have ten housemates, though most of them are away for the festive period. Joining them is their father, Elliot (Nigel Lindsay), and Noah’s girlfriend Maud (Callie Cooke). A later addition is Aaron (Jacob Fortune-Lloyd), Tamara’s ex-partner, who has relocated to Tel Aviv but is paying friends in the UK a visit.
A little too often, perhaps, the dialogue descends into the shouting matches of soap operas, and the 110-minute running time really is at the upper limit of how long a one-act show should run for. There was more than one point at which a comfort break could have been inserted, and I wonder if there was some concern that people might not bother coming back if one had existed. As it was, at the performance I attended, someone not so much walked out as stomped out – let’s just say it really doesn’t take much to provoke people these days.
Completing the set of on-stage characters are Wren, a housemate who declines an invite to the group’s Christmas lunch, Felix, who is after someone in a neighbouring property but somehow keeps finding himself knocking on Noah’s door, and Sphinx, a role so minor I have nothing in my recollection as to what contribution they made to proceedings (sorry). All are played by Jamie Ankrah, who provides welcome distractions in the form of comic relief from the tense and intense discussions the rest of them are increasingly locked into.
The final scene, as published in the playtext, was rightly excised from the play during previews – it involved the audience watching a character who has not appeared at all in any preceding scene swoop in and clean the front room up. It was bad enough watching them quietly eating their lunch – and the cast do actually eat at the dinner table, which effectively means they have two meals courtesy of the production on matinee days. There are no tidy solutions to the questions about what it means to be British Jews, though it is telling that Elliot is preparing to ship out of the country altogether.
Some personal revelations provide a couple of audible gasp moments, which, if anything, help to maintain interest in a play that can’t quite seem to decide whether it is a situational comedy or a state-of-the-nation drama. Still, it’s something different from the standard festive theatrical fare.
Review by Chris Omaweng
There’s something perverted about a Christmas tree.
They’ve got an aura.
It looks perverted and it gives me the creeps.
In an abandoned building somewhere above the Northern Line, with foxes prowling the deserted streets outside, a Jewish family gathers on Christmas Day.
A viciously funny new play about identity, belonging, and the rituals we perform with the people we love.
CAST
Wren/Sphinx/Felix – Jamie Ankrah
Noah – Samuel Blenkin
Maud – Callie Cooke
Aaron – Jacob Fortune-Lloyd
Elliot – Nigel Lindsay
Tamara – Bel Powley
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer – Sam Grabiner
Director – James Macdonald
Set Designer – Miriam Buether
Costume Designer – Evie Gurney
Lighting Designer – Jon Clark
Sound Designer – Max Pappenheim
Intimacy Director – Lucy Hind
Casting Director – Amy Ball CDG
Costume Supervisor – Sabia Smith
Props Supervisor – Mary Halliday
Voice Coach – Emma Woodvine
Assistant Director – Sophia Golan
CHRISTMAS DAY
Almeida Theatre
9 December 2025 to 8 January 2026
