A (tiny) revival of Fiddler on the Roof at the Everyman in Liverpool a few years ago.
As Tevye and his family started to pull their cart out of Anatevka at the end of the show, the rest of the company appeared behind them - in modern dress, carrying improvised luggage, looking like refugees from Syria, Libya, Sudan etc. There was a moment when you could feel the penny drop among the audience: Fiddler, yes, is a story about a particular time and place - but it's also a story about a community of people who are forced to flee their homes, and that's something that happens somewhere in the world every day. I don't think I've ever seen the last moment of the show land as powerfully as it did in that production. |
