Is it me or is communism and the Cold War becoming a trend in theatre and film right now? More precisely, the force that communism seemed to represent even in territories that were its “enemies”?
The Southwark Playhouse’s latest production, The Rubenstein Kiss, is a tense and wonderfully acted play written in 2005 by James Phillips. In 1953, Esther and Jakob Rubenstein were executed by the American government for being spies and informing the Soviets on American secrets regarding the atomic bomb. One of the characters in the play, Anna Levi, says “this is a James Bond” film! The topic around spies sometimes does seem too good to be true, but this is a true story and fascinating for that reason. Also, the play does not just focus on a grand theme, but on the Rubenstein family, their relatives, friends and life in New York City. We meet headstrong, intelligent and proud individuals who enjoy parties and love each other deeply. When they are accused of betraying their country, their insistence on their innocence costs them their lives.
