Professor David Peimer
West Side Story: The Outsider and Bernstein, Sondheim, Robbins
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Summary
West Side Story is one of the truly great musicals ever made. More than a Romeo and Juliet story, or a youth gang story, it is about the outsider, the immigrant, and prejudice. In this way, it is fundamentally a very Jewish story created by two brilliant Jewish musical theatre exponents and Jerome Robbins. Join us for a deep dive into this iconic work that continues to resonate powerfully today.
Professor David Peimer
David Peimer is a Professor of Literature, Film and Theatre in the UK. He has worked for the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, New York University (Global Division) and was a Fulbright Scholar at Columbia University. Born in South Africa, David has won numerous awards for playwriting and directing in New York, UK, Berlin, EU Parliament (Brussels), Athens, Budapest, Zululand and more. He has most recently directed Dame Janet Suzman in his own play, Joanna’s Story, at London Jewish Book Week. He has published widely with books including: Armed Response: Plays from South Africa, the digital book, Theatre in the Camps. He is on the board of the Pinter Centre (London), and has been involved with the Mandela Foundation, Vaclav Havel Foundation and directed a range of plays at Mr Havel’s Prague theatre.