The Town of the Little People

The dark humor of Shalom Aleichem

Shalom Aleichem, widely considered to be the greatest Jewish author, has created a profound universal body of work which deals with the place of the "weak" and the "other" in a society which unbeknownst to it, is dancing it's dance of death. Through a novel, up to date, and surprising interpretation – the play represents a socio-national reality of displacement, exile and bereavement, creating a world of stunning and shocking visual images.
The narrative takes place in a fictional town like Kasrilevke – the characters of Israel the undertaker and of his son Benyamchik who goes to study in the big city, of the rabbi's daughter who refuses to marry and leave her father, or the town gentlemen who wishes to be the Baron de Rothschild, the woman with the pot, Rothschild the happy beggar, the creature – and other characters who appear in the tales, tales woven with a humor which is at times refined and at times vulgar. Humor which hides deep within it a touch of irony, and the brimming of a tear.
The play is based on a collection of stories: "The Town Of The Little People", edited and translated from Yiddish by Benni Merr.