Here's a funny play by a man better known for his brooding motion pictures. Though he never denied his Jewishness, Leigh just recently came out with it publicly, and Two Thousand Years examines aspects of modern Jewish life as experienced within one family which is somewhat like Leigh's own.
Rachel and Danny are a liberal, suburban London couple. Rachel was bought up on a Kibbutz in Israel while Danny had an assimilated Jewish upbringing in England. She mourns the loss of the idealistic, labor-oriented Zionist dream. Both are appalled by their son Josh's sudden embrace of Orthodox Judaism as he starts putting on religious paraphernalia and praying in their home. Leigh creates a startling scene that draws a parallel between religious piety and drug-taking. Rachel and Danny's daughter Tammy has a positive outlook on life and an Israeli boyfriend, who is pragmatic. The grandfather, played by John Burgess, is a wonderful creation of warmth, humor and common sense.
Rachel's long-absent sister suddenly arrives, boiling over with old resentments. That character is so extremely self-centered, the credibility of her scenes is undermined. And I have reservations about Josh, whose personality is Johnny One-Note. Aside from that, this is a warm play that makes trenchant comments about everything from the Iraq war to Hurricane Katrina to traffic jams to British politics to Israel, while keeping us laughing.
Ben Caplan
