Leigh’s New Play: Plot Revelations???

Now that Mike Leigh’s much-anticipated new play, belatedly titled Two Thousand Years, has finally opened to audiences for previews (See News, 7 Sep 2005), some light has been shed on what the already sold-out world premiere at the National’s Cottesloe Theatre is all about. While earlier speculation that the play would deal with the war in Iraq now seems tenuous, actress Miriam Margolyes, who auditioned for a part, was closer to the mark when she told a newspaper that it was about “being Jewish”. According to audience reports from Saturday’s first performance, the play is a domestic drama that revolves around the strained relationships across the generations in a Jewish family. The liberal-minded parents are shocked when their son becomes religious. But which views are more rigid: the staunchly non-secular ones or those of a new-found faith? A full report will be posted with our official Whatsonstage.com review on this Friday (15 September) after Thursday’s night’s press performance.

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