Shiver (review). A powerful and disturbing drama about coping with grief.

The sporadic outpouring of grief is almost too much to bear in David Kanaber’s mournful new drama, Shiver, which opened at Watford Palace Theatre this week.
Ilan Goodman and David Horovitch in Shiver at Watford Palace Theatre. Photo by Manuel Harlan.Ilan Goodman and David Horovitch in Shiver at Watford Palace Theatre. Photo by Manuel Harlan.
Ilan Goodman and David Horovitch in Shiver at Watford Palace Theatre. Photo by Manuel Harlan.

Death, with all the rites and rituals that accompany it, makes for gloomy viewing even when you inject a bit of Jewish humour into the scenes.

But Shiver is more a tale about life and redemption than it is about the passing of a loved one. By the finish it proves pretty life affirming.

The story is written from a Jewish perspective but could equally apply to any family whose members are struggling to maintain relationships.

Ben Caplan and David Horovitch in Shiver. Photo by Manuel Harlan.Ben Caplan and David Horovitch in Shiver. Photo by Manuel Harlan.
Ben Caplan and David Horovitch in Shiver. Photo by Manuel Harlan.

The mother, Sadie, has died and her distraught husband, Mordecai, is overcome with grief.

Although not strictly Orthodox he is determined that she is given the full weight of the Jewish faith and that means Shivah, seven days of mourning with all that entails.

The only problem is that Yom Kippour - the Day of Atonement - takes place tomorrow and that will bring an abrupt end to the ritual. And it doesn’t help that Sadie wasn’t particularly well liked.

In a bit of competitive one-upmanship, another death in the community has robbed Mord of his official mourners.

Worse still their only child, Ben, now an atheist, hadn’t bothered to attend his mother’s funeral and only reluctantly visits his father for Shivah.

It’s almost too painful to watch David Horovitch as he grieves for the love of his life. He gives a powerfully compelling performance that moves you to tears as he desperately tries to do everything right to ensure Sadie’s soul makes it to Heaven.

There is a strong emotional undercurrent between father and son that swings wildly from anger and resentment, to fear and incomprehension.

Ben (Ben Caplan) has distanced himself physically from his parents and emotionally from their religion and, throughout, insults both with seemingly deliberate carelessness.

Meanwhile a trainee rabbi (Ilan Goodman) offers less spiritual support as the drama unfolds and seems as uncomprehending about the nature of death as is former schoolmate Ben.

The dialogue is a virtual torrent of grief only very occasionally lifted with levity.

Shiver is described as a comic play about grief and Judaism but there’s precious little to laugh at other than a promising opening scene that debates the merits of Mord’s shoes.

It cries out for a feminine touch – a concerned neighbour, an old busy-body, or even Ben’s pregnant partner, who is talked about but never seen, to inject some much needed Jewish humour.

Instead the audience is left to wail into their hankies.

Even so the performances by all three men are powerful and beautifully observed.

Derek Bond, who scored such a hit with Neil Simon’s Lost In Yonkers at WPT back in 2012, directs with confidence although the final scene in Act One, involving Sadie’s image in a mirror, was clunky and unnecessary.

Shiver, a piece especially commissioned by the theatre, runs until February 22.

For tickets call the box office 01923 225671 or visit www.watfordpalacetheatre.co.uk

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