Stenclmusic

 

Inspired by Yiddish poet Avrom Stencl, Stenclmusic is billed as a "theatrical snapshot of London's East End Jewish community with witty original music, poetry, storytelling and projected images."

It's a shame that I arrive to find a broken projector and four isolated clarinets rested upon an empty stage. 

When the action finally gets underway, it transpires that Stenclmusic is a solo instrumental music theatre piece, in which actress and clarinettist Neyire Ashworth dramatises the stories of a tailor, baker, child and mother. To portray the colour and vivacity of the streets of Whitechapel, Ashworth uses a mixture of narrative and poetry which is further evocated by emotive clarinet intersperses, originally composed by Rachel Stott.

Stenclmusic effectively captures the hardships and romances of Jewish life in the East End, the clarinet beautifully evoking the individual characters through memorable cadences and rhythms. In particular, the lamenting ballad which accompanies a reading of Stencl’s poem The Last Jew Leaves Whitechapel, reigns with the heartache and despair when, after two generations the area is “stripped of its kosher thread.”

Stenclmusic creates an impression of Jewish life in Whitechapel, but it is limited to an overview. None of the characters are explored in the depth required to render them memorable and at times it feels as if we have been lured to a history lesson; facts and figures disguised as music and image so that we sit up and take notice.

That being said, Stenclmusic has a hint of charm and nostalgia which makes it difficult to dislike.