Overview
Synopsis
I’m Talking About Jerusalem is the final play in The Wesker Trilogy. It covers the years 1946-59 and thus runs concurrently with the latter part of Chicken Soup with Barley and the whole of Roots. Ada and her husband Dave move from London to rural Norfolk where they intend to build their own socialist ‘Jerusalem’. Turning their back on industrial society, the couple seek the perfect unity between work, family life, and the open sky. However, their experiment is questioned and criticized every step of the way by various members of their own family, friends, and even the removal men. To begin with, Dave works as a laborer for a gentleman farmer but he is dismissed for petty theft after failing to understand the ways of country life. From then on, he puts his original ambition to the test and sets up his workshop from which he makes custom pieces of furniture. As his family grows, Dave struggles to make a living and their life is continuously tested. Driven to breaking point, Dave declares himself a prophet of socialism, until he is finally too weary to continue. Admitting defeat, Dave, Ada, and their three children return to London in 1959 but they keep their house in Norfolk with the hope of returning to their countryside idyll in the holidays.
Show Information
- Book
- Arnold Wesker
- Category
- Play
- Age Guidance
- Youth (Y)/General Audiences (G)
- Number of Acts
- 3
- First Produced
- 1960
- Genres
- Drama
- Settings
- Unit/Single Set
- Time & Place
- Norfolk, 1946-1959
- Cast Size
- medium
- Licensor
- Concord Theatricals
- Ideal For
- College/University, Community Theatre, Regional Theatre, Mostly Male Cast, Includes Young Adult, Adult, Mature Adult, Elderly, Late Teen Characters, Medium Cast
Context
Plot
Characters
| Name | Part Size | Gender | Vocal Part |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Lead |
Female |
Non-singer |
|
|
Lead |
Male |
Non-singer |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Non-singer |
|
|
Supporting |
Female |
Non-singer |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Non-singer |
|
|
Supporting |
Female |
Non-singer |
|
|
Supporting |
Female |
Non-singer |
|
|
Featured |
Male |
Non-singer |
|
|
Featured |
Male |
Non-singer |
|
|
Featured |
Male |
Non-singer |
Songs
A song with an asterisk (*) before the title indicates a dance number; a character listed in a song with an asterisk (*) by the character's name indicates that the character exclusively serves as a dancer in this song, which is sung by other characters.
Monologues
Scenes
Key Terms
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Videos
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Quizzes
Themes, Symbols & Motifs
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Quote Analysis
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Guide Written By:
Alexandra Appleton
Writer, editor and theatre researcher