Bad Jews — Vass Theatre Group

Overview

When it comes to family, faith and the inevitable intersection of the two, sometimes you've just got to laugh. That seems to be the mindset behind Bad Jews by Joshua Harmon. When the darkly comic theatre production graced London's stages, however, its posters were banned from the city's underground.

Of course, finding humour in matters of religion isn't everyone's cup of tea — even if the smashing success of The Book of Mormon indicates otherwise. For his addition to the satirical fold, the New York playwright draws upon his own conservative upbringing, while pondering what it means to be Jewish in today's society.

Championed as "one of the funniest things on the New York stage right now" by the Huffington Post when it debuted back in 2012, the play follows three cousins as they each try to claim a treasured family heirloom with religious significance after the passing of their beloved grandfather. Expect plenty of bickering — and expect plenty of bite, too. There's a reason that Bad Jews enjoyed a sellout season and a return encore run in Melbourne earlier in the year, after all.