Wits End – A review

Just opened at London’s Circle & Star Theatre in Hampstead, Estee Stimler’s Wits End is an acutely observed one-act take on a New York Jewish family gathered for the funeral of their (respective) father and brother-in-law.

The writing carries hints of Jack Rosenthal, Larry David and Woody Allen as the three siblings and their aunt use the sad occasion to vent all their deliciously dysfunctional and disarmingly familiar resentments and frustrations on each other. Stimler’s liberal use of colloquial NY Yiddish (add Mel Brooks to that list of her influencers) suggests that the evening will be best enjoyed by her fellow Jews, but the neuroses of all four family members give rise to universal aspects of comedy.

Steve Furst makes his directorial debut with the show, coaxing glorious work from his company. Sue Kelvin is a phenomenal Phyllis, the embittered aunt, who never misses an opportunity to expose the flaws in the next generation. Kelvin nails her character’s Yiddishkeit and rude chutzpah with pinpoint timing – and while she may be delivering more caricature than character, she does so deliciously.

As Yitzy, the perpetually unmarried youngest sibling who has cared for his elderly father during his decline, Daniel Lipton is a delight. A bearded shloch of a loving and devoted son, Lipton cleverly mines Stimler’s rich comic seams.

Shai Forrester is Cooper, the wealthiest sibling who’s funded his father’s care from California without ever having visited in person. Forrester is similarly convincing in his role.

The brothers’ sister Denise, a control freak, is played by Leah Marks. Again, fine work. Completing the evening’s quintet is David Boyle as Rabbi Horowitz. Hired by Yitzy from a Google ad, Horowitz is also a wannabe comedian – some of his lines are classy, others less so, but the whole craziness of Stimler’s cooky saga is reminiscent of the wonderfully upside-down world of Rosenthal’s 1976 BBC TV play, Barmitzvah Boy.

A native New Yorker, Stimler’s writing would have been perfect for the Catskills, as not all of her gags land as sweetly on a London audience as she might have hoped for. Even so, she has penned a delightfully well-observed comedy which at 75 minutes doesn’t outstay its welcome and makes for a fun evening’s entertainment.

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Runs until 22nd November