The Knish Collective are…
The Knish Collective are Judy Batalion, Claire Berliner, Mekella Broomberg and Rachel Mars. They have worked on a number of projects together including the Yiddish Cabaret, curated by David Schneider for Jewish Book Week 2009, for which they produced a various sketches; a one-woman show, written and performed by Judy and directed by Rachel, which was performed at the Canadian High Commission; and ‘Tales of the Apocalypse’, devised and produced by Mekella with puppets created by Claire at Shunt. Between them, the Knish Collective speak 6 languages, have 8 degrees and own 12 pairs of glasses.
Judy Batalion has worked as a script-writing consultant for the National Film Board of Canada and was a scriptwriter-in-residence at the Women's Art Library (Goldsmiths), Her comedy plays, stand-up, and one-woman shows have been staged in the UK, Canada and Australia. Judy has written features, reviews, comedy and stories for publications including the Washington Post, the TLS, the Jewish Quarterly, the Jewish Chronicle, Lilith, and Contemporary Theatre Review. She currently holds a fellowship from Hadassah-Brandeis Institute for which she is translating 1940s women's memoirs from Yiddish into English.
Claire Berliner is a writer and puppet maker. She is Co-Director of children’s theatre company Jammy Doughnut Productions. With Jonny Berliner, she recently co-wrote, produced and designed their show, ‘The Scribe Who Wouldn’t Scribble,’ a puppet musical, which played at Jewish Book Week, the Tricycle Theatre and Eastwood Park Theatre, Glasgow. Their shows Dude Where’s My Teddy Bear and Ice Cream Man and the Jelly incident are currently playing at the Edinburgh Festival. Claire is the writer, producer and director of the JCC Tribute Troupe who perform tributes to famous literary and musical Jews. She was Arts Programmer and Producer at the JCC for London for three years before becoming Centre Director of Totleigh Barton, a creative writing centre run by the Arvon Foundation.
Mekella Broomberg is a writer, puppeteer and aerialist. She performs with circus collective, Aerialism, whose recent productions, include 'Noir' and 'Tales of The Apocalypse' and have been performed at Shunt Theatre Lounge, the Albany Theatre, London and at Glastonbury and Edinburgh Festivals. She is finishing a PhD on Literary Dialogues with the Dead and is Assistant Director of London's largest literary festival, Jewish Book Week.
Rachel Mars has written three theatre productions for Spiel Theatre: 'Metamirror', 'Wax and Feathers', and 'That's Me Gone' which were shown across London. She regularly collaborates with nat tarrab, their recent theatre show '27 Ways I Will Never F*** my Mother' was shown at the Barbican, Plymouth, CPT and BAC, London. She has worked as a director and producer for spoken word organisation Apples & Snakes for 5 years.
The Knish Collective are Judy Batalion, Claire Berliner, Mekella Broomberg and Rachel Mars. They have worked on a number of projects together including the Yiddish Cabaret, curated by David Schneider for Jewish Book Week 2009, for which they produced a various sketches; a one-woman show, written and performed by Judy and directed by Rachel, which was performed at the Canadian High Commission; and ‘Tales of the Apocalypse’, devised and produced by Mekella with puppets created by Claire at Shunt. Between them, the Knish Collective speak 6 languages, have 8 degrees and own 12 pairs of glasses.
Judy Batalion has worked as a script-writing consultant for the National Film Board of Canada and was a scriptwriter-in-residence at the Women's Art Library (Goldsmiths), Her comedy plays, stand-up, and one-woman shows have been staged in the UK, Canada and Australia. Judy has written features, reviews, comedy and stories for publications including the Washington Post, the TLS, the Jewish Quarterly, the Jewish Chronicle, Lilith, and Contemporary Theatre Review. She currently holds a fellowship from Hadassah-Brandeis Institute for which she is translating 1940s women's memoirs from Yiddish into English.
Claire Berliner is a writer and puppet maker. She is Co-Director of children’s theatre company Jammy Doughnut Productions. With Jonny Berliner, she recently co-wrote, produced and designed their show, ‘The Scribe Who Wouldn’t Scribble,’ a puppet musical, which played at Jewish Book Week, the Tricycle Theatre and Eastwood Park Theatre, Glasgow. Their shows Dude Where’s My Teddy Bear and Ice Cream Man and the Jelly incident are currently playing at the Edinburgh Festival. Claire is the writer, producer and director of the JCC Tribute Troupe who perform tributes to famous literary and musical Jews. She was Arts Programmer and Producer at the JCC for London for three years before becoming Centre Director of Totleigh Barton, a creative writing centre run by the Arvon Foundation.
Mekella Broomberg is a writer, puppeteer and aerialist. She performs with circus collective, Aerialism, whose recent productions, include 'Noir' and 'Tales of The Apocalypse' and have been performed at Shunt Theatre Lounge, the Albany Theatre, London and at Glastonbury and Edinburgh Festivals. She is finishing a PhD on Literary Dialogues with the Dead and is Assistant Director of London's largest literary festival, Jewish Book Week.
Rachel Mars has written three theatre productions for Spiel Theatre: 'Metamirror', 'Wax and Feathers', and 'That's Me Gone' which were shown across London. She regularly collaborates with nat tarrab, their recent theatre show '27 Ways I Will Never F*** my Mother' was shown at the Barbican, Plymouth, CPT and BAC, London. She has worked as a director and producer for spoken word organisation Apples & Snakes for 5 years.
