The Jew from Three Rivers

In 1807, Ezekiel Hart was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada in 1807. Although he was the first Jew elected to public office in the British Empire, Hart was unable to take his seat because he refused to take his oath using a Christian Bible.

The issues raised by the play resonate with us today: reasonable accommodation, the role of religion in a secular society, social acceptance of the “Other,” and more generally the damgers that arise when cultural norms are not accepted by the majority population.

80 minutes, seven men, one woman. Some roles may be doubled.