Henry Goodman, Ronald Harwood and Martin Sherman receive Jewish Theatre awards

Ronald Harwood, Henry Goodman and Martin Sherman are among the recipients of the inaugural National Jewish Theatre Foundation (NJTF) Awards, which were presented last night at the London Jewish Museum.

The NJTF Awards are given in recognition of those who have made valuable contributions to Jewish voices in theatre.

Recipients also included Duncan C Weldon, who produced Sherman's play Bent, about the persecution of gays in Nazi Germany, and actor Antony Sher, whose award was collected on his behalf by Harwood, his cousin.

Goodman was honoured for his recent portrayal of Bertold Brecht's Arturo Ui, for which he is currently nominated for an Olivier Award, while Harwood was recognised for his acclaimed body of work – including the Holocaust related plays Taking Sides and Collaboration and Oscar-winning film The Pianist.

The awards where presented by Arnold Mittelman of the Holocaust Theatre Archive.

After the presentation, Digital Theatre showed a screening Jeff Cohen's hard-hitting play The Soap Myth, about a Holocaust survivor's mission to prove the Nazis made soap out of their Jewish victims.

There followed a lively post-show discussion featuring Cohen, Goodman, Mittelman and Digital Theatre's Robert Delamere, during which the play and the future of recorded theatre were debated.

"We share the hope and belief of the National Jewish Theatre Foundation that The Soap Myth will continue to captivate audiences around the world, pay respect to the victims of the Holocaust and serve as a permanent reminder of what history has taught us," Delamere said.

Mittelman added: "The chance to honour the victims of the Holocaust and their memory by providing access to the play via both the internet and at the world-renowned Jewish Museum London is a privilege indeed."