REVIEW: WITS END by Estée Stimler at Circle & Star Theatre 9 – 22 November 2026

‘a lot of fun’ ★★★★

This black comedy has a neat set up. It’s a celebration of life in memory of Marvin Becker at a New York funeral home.  The youngest son Yitzy has arranged the funeral including a rabbi hired off the internet who turns out to be also a working comedian. 

When his siblings, Cooper and Denise find out, they try to keep it a secret from their verbose Aunt Phyllis. Along the way we find out that Cooper pays for everything and is always concerned with money, Yitzy was carer to his father for 14 years, Denise was her father’s favourite and Aunt Phyllis enjoyed the company of her silent brother-in-law because ‘he was such a good listener’.  The play asks questions about what is owed to a father, but also individually, who is doing the right thing? Is it the son who pays for everything but doesn’t want to see his father, the younger son who is the carer but loses out on a life of his own, or the meddling middle sibling? Fortunately, the play doesn’t attempt to give us any answers.

Instead, we have stock characters, which are well-known to us, along with a premise which is not quite so familiar. It is a lot of fun. For those audiences who are not Jewish, the show provides an insight into Jewish funeral rights with quite a lot of Hebrew, Yiddish and Yinglish words and terms, but don’t worry, there’s also a handy glossary in the programme if any of them spark your curiosity.

Writer,  Estée Stimler, has a long history of comedy writing and the mechanics of her craft are clearly seen in the show.  Perhaps the only disappointment is that Stimler, having lived in this country for 37 years (according to the programme), didn’t set the story in London. It would have been interesting to see how these characters changed within the local culture. For that reason, although set in the present, it has the feeling of being in aspic, it feels like a revival rather than new writing. 

That’s not necessarily a criticism, more of an observation. Steve Furst, making his directorial debut, keeps the pace a little manic, leaning towards farce, the audience must concentrate to catch every word. I admit that a little more time, or changes of pace might have been easier for the viewer, but praise is due for utilising the shallow space of the stage very well.  It turns out to be a little linear, but Furst makes this works well.  He knows how to make the most of the available space, up close and personal with the occasional breaking of the fourth wall to include the audience, who appreciate the attention.

If there is a star of the show, it has to be Sue Kelvin as Aunt Phyllis who rules the roost and is into everybody’s business; she plays her part with relish and perhaps with a little caustic twist.   She has a habit of malapropisms which give an extra dimension to her character, I particularly like ‘hunting for his head’.    She is lovably ghastly and way over the top, but very real to Stimler who based her characters on her own upbringing.  The whole cast give it their all to do justice to these remembered personas, with Leah Marks as Denise bringing a particularly cute moment. This involved giving a recital for ‘pop’, which she wasn’t able to give ‘all those years ago’ because her recorder mysteriously disappeared. A wonderfully ironic moment.   

Circle & Star is a relatively new addition to the pub theatre scene and as promised, the redevelopment of the studio space has included an excellent sound system and a screen for projection.  Also, if it’s not too vulgar to mention here, the brand-new upstairs toilets are also an asset to the theatre.

JUSTIN BOVINGTON presents WITS END,

A COMEDY ABOUT DEATH by Estée Stimler, Directed by Steve Furst, Made possible by Tsitsit.

 fringe

At Circle & Star Theatre

28 Heath Street, Hampstead, London NW3 6TE

9-22 November 2026

Monday to Saturday 7.30pm (not Monday 16th)

Matinees Saturday and Sunday 3pm

BOX OFFICE https://witsend.circleandstar.live/

Photography: Steve Furst