Leeds, UK
The International Jewish Performing Arts Festival
Welcome to this year’s electrifying bumper entertainment showcase, celebrating ten outstanding years of The International Jewish Performing Arts Festival!
Unique in Western Europe, the Festival presents five phenomenal days of high quality international music, comedy, drama and dance, eagerly awaited by audiences of thousands.
Here are just some of the exciting highlights we all enjoyed this year:
Tap and Chat with Lionel Blair
Arriving in Leeds, following a triumphant sell–out in London, Lionel Blair is on tour with his inimitable charm. Amidst beautifully choreographed songs such as Me and My Shadow and They Can’t Take That Away from Me, Lionel captivates his audience with spellbinding anecdotes, from tea at Number 10 and personal engagements with Liza Minnelli, to his legendary performances with Sammy Davis Jnr.
Brenda Adelman, New York
My Brooklyn Hamlet
Her mother was shot. Her father jailed. Then he married her aunt. This is Brenda Adelman’s true tale of forgiving the unforgivable. "My Brooklyn Hamlet" is Brenda’s acclaimed one-woman drama about family, murder, love, betrayal and the awesome power of forgiveness.
Joshua Nelson, New York
The Kosher Gospel Show
Get ready for an uplifting show with the wow factor!
Joshua Nelson brings to the Festival Jewish Gospel – a show that’s breathtaking in its originality.
Quoted by Oprah Winfrey as “the next big thing,” see how well-loved prayers and words which are heard in the synagogue are delivered in a way that will have you out of your seat and shouting for more – that’s Kosher Gospel.
Mor Karbasi & Band, London
International Ladino Diva
Don’t miss this dramatic Ladino diva!
For one night only, Mor Karbasi along with her top band of musicians, presents a dazzling performance in Ladino, Spanish, Hebrew and English.
Described as "Spine tingling Gypsy Music" by the press, Mor switches effortlessly from songs that mix flamenco and North African influences.
The Timekeepers, Israel
Hans, an outrageous young camp German homosexual, and Benjamin, a conservative elderly Jewish man appear at first to have little in common. Working together, repairing watches for the Nazis, suspicion and prejudice indifference slowly give way to a touching friendship. Benjamin can mend watches. Hans knows how to survive. None of them can really sing opera. So what’s to be done? Humour, apparently, is a great weapon.