Katerina Tannenbaum and Eddie Toll in The Wanderers [Mark Senior]

ANNA Ziegler’s The Wanderers makes its UK premiere following a critically acclaimed Off-Broadway run in 2023.

Set In Brooklyn, Abe (Alexander Forsyth), a prize-winning novelist, is trying to piece together his parents’ untold history, when he is drawn into a provocative, intimate online exchange with Hollywood star Julia Cheever (Anna Popplewell).

Their correspondence raises difficult questions: is this a betrayal of his wife, Sophie (Paksie Vernon) – a fellow writer and childhood friend – driven by marital dissatisfaction? Or is it creative frustration and unresolved trauma rooted in his parents’ marriage and inherited faith?

Running parallel is the story of Abe’s parents, Schmuli (Eddie Toll) and Esther (Katerina Tannenbaum), an Orthodox Jewish couple in a Hasidic community, bound by an arranged marriage and seeking their own escape.

Schmuli, devout and reserved, clings to tradition, while Esther longs for something beyond the confines of domestic life: autonomy, a job, birth control, and the freedom to define herself outside religious expectation.

Though secular, Sophie and Abe still wrestle with the religious and cultural influences of Judaism. Esther’s quiet rebellion offers an affecting counterpoint to Abe’s own search for meaning – his self-obsession wears thin over time despite, or perhaps because of, Forsyth’s credible performance.

The title The Wanderers reflects the emotional and existential restlessness of its characters – their search for meaning, identity, and connection.

The production is imaginatively directed by Igor Golyak, unfolding on Jan Pappelbaum’s evocative set, with actors using white marker on a transparent screen to sketch settings, objects, and “chapters”.

Though it felt a little flat on the night I attended, it’s a fascinating story; a poignant exploration of family legacy, beautifully performed by the five-strong cast.

Until November 29
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