Teshuvah (The Return)

Cast 2 - 1F / 1M

Setting The Cafeteria at London’s Victoria Railway Station / 1st December 1986

It is the 1980s. A sister and brother meet in the cafeteria at Victoria Railway Station. She is an Anglican nun; he a retired principle of a College of Theosophy. She has a secret to share with him that she knows will rock his foundations.

What are the bonds that tie them together? What are the twists of fate that have pulled them apart? Can the shame and pain of the past be healed?

Over their table hangs a tinsel attempt at Christmas. But the sister is dreaming of Chanukah and the fundamental truths that bind all religions together; while the brother is fighting back an unbearable anguish…

Hailing from Lithuania, they have only met a handful of times in the last 60 years. Will today’s rendezvous bring them closer? Or will it deepen the rift between them?
Why does it matter?

TESHUVAH (The Return) is based on a delving into my Jewish family history. It explores the agony suffered when family members change the faith of generations.

All enquiries to Lucy Fawcett. Sheil Land Associates:
Email: lfawcett@sheilland.co.uk
Phone: 020 7405 9351

• Adrian Locher, Executive Director, New Marylebone Theatre

  I found the play really engaging and poignant. How much drama there can be in a tea-time conversation when there is so much unresolved history! I was greatly struck by how you unravel the parallels of Peter and Petra's complex lives…and never imagined that Petra would be such a hoot!

• Mark Aldridge, Producer, Pentilla Productions Ltd

  TESHUVAH is a joyous two-hander that rewards the audience with a carefully crafted character study that pops with wit and humour. At its heart, this is a story of faith. Be that a belief in a shared moral code, or the faith in the doctrines of different creeds, but, ultimately, the faith to trust, whole-heartedly, in a loved-one. Edelman’s subtlety and willingness to share the covenant at the beating heart of this play makes TESHUVAH absolutely captivating.

  It would also make a great piece for a television film.

• Gillian Moseley, Director of the documentary, Tinderbox

   Thanks so much for letting me read TESHUVAH which I found very compelling.

  Yes I think it has value for a wide audience and resonance for today. And I think you've been fair to both sides. I thought you could have gone in slightly heavier if anything.