The latest "forgotten" play to be unearthed at the Finborough Theatre is thought to
be a British premiere: Colin Chambers has written a new adaptation of David Pinski's
1906 Yiddish play
Treasure. Part of a whole genre of Yiddish theatre that
went on to inspire
Fiddler on the Roof, the play is set in a Jewish town in a
part of Russia that would nowadays be within the boundaries of Belarus. There Chone
(James Pearse) has been the local gravedigger for the last 14 years, not a well-paid
job but a steady one as the harsh conditions mean he's never short of customers.
When his simpleton son Judke (Sid Sagar) buries his dog, he finds a stash of
sovereigns which he gives as a gift to his sister Tille (Olivia Bernstone.) This
puts Tille in an unusual position of power over Chone and his wife Jachne-Braine
(Fiz Marcus,) who beg her for the gold coins; but she has plans to see what it's
like to be rich, if only for one day.
