James Inverne, at The Blogs

Mar 21, 2025, 6:03 PM

The 16th Sheep: Music for the death of democracy?

Mar 10, 2025, 1:05 PM

Three videos in a week show an uncaring government

Knesset guards clash with bereaved family members, March 3rd 2025, credit: screenshot/October Council)

A musician -- not Jewish -- once said to me, "I think I understand why there are so many great Jewish violinists. It's because Jews are so ready with their feelings, and the violin nestles right next to the...

Jul 12, 2024, 2:42 PM

5 times the world got it wrong on Gaza (and 3 times before that)

A BBC apology for misreporting on the Gaza War, Nov. 2023 (from the BBC website's Corrections and Clarifications page)

People are quick to believe every bad thing they hear about the only Jewish state, rarely waiting to find out if it is, you know, actually true, before rushing to publish an article or issue a public condemnation. As...

Apr 9, 2024, 1:49 PM

Jewish resonances of Broadway’s ‘Lempicka’

Sometimes a show will strike a chord with you, and sometimes, that chord is uncomfortable, if not atonal. In New York, I was recently invited by a producer friend to see the new show she has brought to Broadway...

Jan 24, 2024, 12:47 PM

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Actors’ readings of South Africa’s case at the Hague miss the real drama

If only Susan Sarandon, among many others, had given stage time to Israel's efforts to protect civilians and Hamas's role in killing both peoples

Oct 19, 2023, 7:34 PM

Did October 7th make music irrelevant?

I haven’t been able to listen to music. Since October 7th, I haven’t been able to listen to music. Since a brief family holiday in the north of Israel, the country where I live, was cut short by the...

Aug 22, 2023, 6:26 PM

Don’t. Go. Anywhere. A plea to fellow Olim!

If you're reading this and you're not Israeli, let me assure you - it’s not simply as bad as you’ve heard, it’s potentially much worse. Every day, as we Israelis doomscroll down our phone screens, we read dire new...

Jun 1, 2023, 6:02 PM

How my YouTube play responds to the judicial overhaul

Stress can be debilitating. Let’s admit that. The intense political tension around the Israeli government’s proposed judicial overhaul has not only threatened to tear the very social fabric of the country apart, it may have rendered many of its...

Apr 5, 2023, 4:55 PM

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Because of this government, I’m eating hametz

I am appalled at the idea of forcing ill people to bow to religious laws that they may or may not share, at a time when they are at their most vulnerable

Nov 27, 2021, 8:22 PM

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One day in the house with Steve

Composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim gestures during a gathering at Tufts University in Medford, Mass., Monday, April 12, 2004. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Encounters with Stephen Sondheim led me to a deeper understanding of a titan of the theater, the most humane of men, who dealt in contradictions rather than absolutes

About Me

James Inverne is a journalist, playwright and author. He was formerly the editor of Gramophone Magazine, and performing arts correspondent for Time Magazine. He has written for many publications including the Financial Times, Wall Street Journal and Sunday Telegraph, and published five books. His play "A Walk With Mr. Heifetz" was premiered Off-Broadway. He has written several films, including two for IMAX Entertainment.

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