Owen Horsley directs at Hampstead Theatre for the first time; his credits for the RSC include the recent double bill of Rebellion and Wars of the Roses, as well as Maydays and Salomé. All this is conveyed in Owen Horsley’s lively production with wit and irreverence for the societal norms outside which Catharina and Anastasius lived. Directed by Owen Horsley, the play’s creative team also includes Simon Wells (design), Matt Daw (lighting), Max Pappenheim (sound), Dewi Johnson (assistant direction), Rachel Bown-Williams (fight and intimacy direction) and Ruth Cooper Brown (fight and intimacy direction). He also pointed out that while the community wished to “seek justice, the only thing the CPS can deliver is the law.”

What do truth and intimacy mean under such extreme pressures? Owen Horsley’s production locates it in a tender bath scene – perversely stuffed into an overhung corner of the set – where Maggie Bain’s charismatic Anastasius strips off for the first time, in the garret that has become the couple’s marital home, moments before the law comes banging at the door, bringing an abrupt swerve into courtroom drama. After a year at drama school, Bain has worked consistently, although before landing "the most wonderful supportive agent" it could be isolating. Wilson and Bain are remarkable, deftly switching between the comedy and the subtler, more poignant moments”We have always existed, we are woven into the fabric of humanity, and it's important to factor in a non binary person's perspective. We are as full of love as anyone else. The one thing you can never have too much of is love. It should be celebrated in all of its forms." But if the evidence isn’t there, and in that case Andrew, it wasn’t there, then it doesn’t meet our test and can’t get the case.” Ruby Thomas’s sparky historical play is dulled by its messaging. The subject is a married couple who lived in 18th-century Prussia but who were tried when it was discovered that the husband was born a woman and was then executed for sodomy (I know). But in November charges against two men, who had denied involvement in the taunts were dropped. This followed an earlier decision to drop charges against two other men, who were thought to have been involved in the convoy.

In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding. At the beginning we see them very confident; a lothario and soldier, well practiced in giving pleasure to women, but not realising what it means to love," says Bain. Extremely funny imagining of a queer relationship from the 1700s, inspired by historical court transcripts. In May 2021 group of men drove 200 miles from Bradford to taunt the community from within a convoy of cars yelling ‘F*** the Jews… F*** all of them. F*** their mothers, f*** their daughters.’If I’m honest, we probably tried too hard. Which is why I think that the community was very disappointed that having begun a prosecution, we ended it.” Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life. Until Catherina’s mother grows suspicious about Anastasius’s true identity and sets out to destroy their newfound happiness. If the real Anastasius thought of herself as a gay woman who refused to be defined by man- made laws then that possibility has been denied her here. It is not the first time historical figures about whom little is known have been resurrected by a playwright only to be frog-marched into conforming to his, her or their politics.

In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people. Crucially, three actors – barely adapting Katrina Lindsay’s sober costumes – become a myriad characters, multigenerational, epoch-leaping, gender-defying. Michael Balogun, Hadley Fraser and Nigel Lindsay morph as ingeniously as the first cast. They are the three Bavarian brothers and they are their American descendants. With a bend of waist and wrist, a simper or a glare (this is a man-oriented show) they become their wives; with a whimper or treble voice they turn into their children; a dying man transforms into the doctor who tends him.He also said there was evidence that 13 and 14 year-old were amongst those being increasingly drawn into far-right activity internationally. We couldn’t prove to the criminal standard that the people in the cars are the people that were issuing antisemitic comments. AN EPIC LOVE STORY INSPIRED BY THE REAL LIFE OF AN 18th CENTURY GENDER PIONEER PREMIERES AT HAMPSTEAD THEATRE Bain feels "hopeful" at increasingly open discussion around gender, especially among younger generations: "It comes down to making a little bit of space for a few people - there isn't an army of LGBT people coming for you!," says Bain, referencing recent Census figures on gender identity. The final act is set in a courtroom with an affronted and pompous male judiciary determined to punish the couple. Anastasius, charged with sodomy and desertion, faces execution.