Kadimah: Welcome to Kadimah and mazeltov on being cast as the new Yentl! We are all very excited to meet you – both on and offstage.
Amy Hack: (I’m) very excited to meet the Kadimah family. I couldn’t possibly be more thrilled to be taking on Yentl in the new year – I’m still pinching myself, it’s the absolute role of a lifetime. It’s also very poignant to be telling a Jewish story right now, at a time when I think we need to be telling Jewish stories more than ever.
Kadimah: Have you had any experience with Kadimah? Any events or productions you’ve attended?
AH: Though I grew up mere blocks from the Kadimah centre, I have been based mostly in Sydney for the past 10 years so sadly have not attended any events or productions yet. Many of my family and friends have however, and now that I’ve begun to develop a healthy appetite for Yiddish culture I hope to enjoy many of the variety of Kadimah’s cultural events in the future.
Kadimah: Why Yentl?
AH: Yentl is the story of a young Jewish person fuelled by curiosity and a hunger for meaning in a world that isn’t able to give her satisfying answers, and it tells the story of the lengths she goes to to defy the societal obstacles set around her. Yentl’s story rings as true today as they did when Isaac Bashevis Singer wrote his original short story and when the story is set in the 1800s. She is driven by this inherently Jewish yearning for knowledge but it is the religion itself that bars her from expressing her true love for Jewish faith. It is heart-breaking in this sense, but also electrifying to watch this brave woman stumble wildly towards understanding both herself and the pains and ecstasies of the world before her.
Kadimah: How’s your Yiddish?
AH: Like many from my generation, my main experience with Yiddish centres around my parents speaking in Yiddish when they don’t want me to understand what they are saying about me. This is beginning to shift thankfully as I’m starting to wrap my brain, mouth and ears around more Yiddish – I’m listening to lots of Yiddish music and getting deep into Duo Lingo, so soon enough I should be equipped to respond to my mum’s Yiddishe lamentations over my marital status.
Kadimah: What are you most looking forward to about the production?
AH: This production of course had an exceptional and award-winning life in 2022, and it is such a gift when a production gets a chance at a return season, so in one sense I don’t want to disturb the magic that was found then. However, I’m really looking forward to getting in the rehearsal room with these brilliant artists, discovering who my Yentl is and what I can infuse into this already wonderfully-formed piece of work.
Kadimah: Is there anything you would like the Kadimah audience to know about you?
AH: That I suspect this is going to be a very special production. I’m proud to be able to tell a Jewish story at this difficult time and believe in the power of theatre to open minds and hearts and conversation, or to otherwise give people a healthy serving of catharsis with their glass of wine.
Tickets for this years production can be purchased at this link: https://tickets.malthousetheatre.com.au/production/8598
