THEATRE: Review – Broken Glass

It’s November 1938 and Sylvia, a paranoid Jewish woman in Brooklyn, is struck by hysterical paralysis.  But what’s really constricting her: fear of Germany’s Nazis or fear of her husband at home?
 
There’s something crude and jagged about Arthur Miller’s late play, Broken Glass, but in the Tricycle Theatre’s new production, it’s given a bright sparkle, thanks to a near flawless ensemble cast.  For Miller, as he told his collaborator David Thacker  the title Broken Glass signified not only Kristallnacht, which obsesses Sylvia, but also the moment in the Jewish marriage ceremony when the bridegroom shatters a glass goblet under his foot.  According to some rabbinical traditions, the moment recollects the destruction of The Temple, and is a reminder of Jewish exile; for others, it’s just a warning not to get too drunk at the party, in case more crockery ends up getting smashed. For others still, it symbolizes the rupture of the hymen, the end of childhood and the irrevocability of the marriage pact; and some say it’s a reminder of the brokenness of the world, that even in the midst of joy there is always sorrow – especially if you’re Jewish.