2021 marks thirty years since the stage premiere of Angels in America, the much-lauded play about the Aids crisis made into a Golden Globe and Emmy winning mini-series.
Reading excerpts from the script and watching film clips, we’ll spend time with the characters and analyse how the drama builds. We’ll pay particular attention to the motivation, background and creative process of Jewish playwright Tony Kushner, find out why Meryl Streep was cast as an Orthodox Rabbi, and explore the political implications of including real figures such as Ethel Rosenberg and Roy Cohn in an otherwise fictional creation. We’ll also consider the National Theatre productions, thinking about the relevance of this seminal USA-set work for UK audiences.
Dr Aviva Dautch is the Executive Director of Jewish Renaissance, the UK's Jewish arts magazine. She is a published poet, has a PhD in literature and lectures on modern Jewish literature weekly at JW3. She is a regular contributor to courses and programmes for the British Library, British Museum and BBC Radio 4.
NB: This series will take place both in the building and online. To watch online, click the "Book Now" button on this page. To attend in person, click the button below.
