The publishing industry appears to be in a similar situation, Oberman says. “I know a lot of Jewish writers, editors and agents who find it very difficult to do their jobs.”

I wonder if she thinks Friday night dinner Would you handle it in the current climate? “That’s a very good question, I don’t know,” he says, reflecting on it. “All I can say is that The merchant of Venice “it’s going from strength to strength.”

Speaking openly about anti-Semitism has made her an unofficial spokesperson for ordinary people, many of whom approach her on the street to thank her for her work. An unexpected consequence is that it also made her a spokesperson for the Jewish people in her industry. “I have (many) behind the scenes, very high-ranking people, very successful people, A-list celebrities, even people who are just starting out, who ask for advice, say thank you, speak for me. “

One actor told him that he used to wear a Star of David but now hides it in rehearsal rooms, and told him: “What I discovered is that they practically nail me to the wall and ask me to pass a political purity test about Israel.” ”.

She adds: “I had another friend who said that when the cast found out he had family in Israel, they didn’t talk to him.”

I notice Oberman look at the young woman sitting next to us who seems interested in our conversation. A flash of concern crosses his face. Then the woman bows. “I’m really sorry to interrupt, but I’m listening and I’m Israeli, Jewish, and a dancer, and I’m very interested; if you have a show, I’d love to go.”

Oberman seems relieved and is happy to tell him the details of the play. This kind of thing happens a lot, he says, returning to our conversation. “I think I speak common sense and I think people have lost the art of common sense. We are so caught up in the culture wars and these binary definitions that you are with us or against us. You can hold many truths at the same time.”

Meanwhile, he says, “performative activism that oppresses people is not helpful.” He remembers the day in 2018 when he saw that Momentum had invited an artist who had spray-painted the last standing wall of the Warsaw Ghetto to speak at a side event at the Labor Party conference. “It bothered me so much that I posted it on Twitter and that was the beginning.”

Since then, has been the victim of atrocious trolling (she started a podcast, trolledas a result), and she ended up in trouble herself. In 2022, he paid compensation to an academic whom he had falsely accused of anti-Semitism.

When The Merchant of Venice 1936 was in the Criterion, she had to have 24 hour security. “That was the moment when shit got real and I could see the way it was impacting my safety.” He stepped away from the spotlight six months ago when he could “see that other people were taking over.” “At one point it was just me, Rachel Riley and David Baddiel. “A lot of other people are doing it now.”

She’s in a strange club of people who know what it’s like to be stalked online. “I look at Amanda Abbington and we compare death threats,” he begins, before his agent gently warns him not to go to the topic.

Oberman is in talks about what precautions should be taken when the play opens at the Trafalgar Theater next month. It must have been terrifying for his family at times. “They support me so much and my daughter told me, ‘You’re very brave and I hope that if I ever get to the point where I have a profile, I’ll use it forever too.'”