Humphrey Bower has over 20 years’ experience in dramaturgy and script adaptation, as well as an impressive history as an actor. The Golem, or Next Year in Jerusalem is however a somewhat unusual excursion for Bower since it depends neither on textual adaptation, nor really ‘acting’ if by this we mean evocation of an identified character. The work is in some senses a sequel to Bower’s more ‘conventional’ adaptation of Franz Kafka’s short stories (The Burrow and The Apparatus, 2019) in which Bower collaborated with theatre-maker Timothy Green. Bower here echoes Green’s own specialisation in choreographic drama and performance art.

Humphrey Bower in The Golem at The Blue Room Theatre. Photo © Daniel GrantHumphrey Bower in The Golem at The Blue Room Theatre. Photo © Daniel Grant

The work consists of short episodes staged in different rooms of The Blue Room Theatre, each with a distinctive yet sparse array of props and set items. Our two protagonists never speak, while a complex soundtrack offers elliptical commentary through which to read the staged material. The live performance itself is also restricted. Physical acts are repeated and there is a sense of almost traumatic obsessiveness...