London's Nick Cassenbaum Takes Bathtime on Tour

In East London's last remaining bath house, writer and performer Nick Cassenbaum finds what he's looking for, now he's touring around the country to tell you all about it.

Bubbemeises is Yiddish for a grandmother's story, a tall story, an old wives' tale. A schvitz is a Jewish steam bath where old men go to wash, relax, complain and rejuvenate, to exchange jokes and gossip and to swap bubbemeisis.

Writer and street performer Nick Cassenbaum has been trying to make sense of his Jewish identity ever since he was a young boy. He tried everything - going to Spurs, summer camps, babershops, religion even. All, alas, to no avail.

It wasn't until his blind grandfather took him to the schvitz in Canning Town, East London that he found what he was looking for. Here men enact the ancient washing ritual of schmeissing, and, as he lay naked being schmeissed by his grandfather, he knew he had found what he was looking for, but above all, he knew he had to make a show about it.

In Bubble Schmeisis Nick and his accompanying klezmer musicians invite you to join them as they conjure the enveloping warmth of this last remaining authentic steam bath house in East London. Amongst the steam and ritual Nick will take you with him as he embarks on a journey schlepping through memories of the milestones in his life when he questioned but also celebrated aspects of his heritage to find the place where he belongs. It's about Nick finding his identity and wanting to keep the spirit of the steam baths alive, giving an up-close insight into a community that is fading and a folk history of a once vibrant culture.

A hit with critics and audiences at the 2016 Edinburgh Festival, Bubble Schmeisis is full of intimate and personal true stories about identity, home and getting washed by old men. The show will strike a chord with anyone who looks to investigate their past to understand their present.

'It's just a place that's all about sitting together," said Nick of the schvitz. 'It's a place where men talk freely and frankly. It's the only place where I really felt some kind of identity - it felt like home. Now I'm really excited to be taking it out to new audiences. I invite them onto the stage with me for playful interactions so the show changes depending on how those people respond, leaving no two performances the same.' See a trailer here http://www.nickcassenbaum.com/bubble-schmeisis

Nick Cassenbaum is a storyteller, street performer and theatre maker and is co-artistic director of Slap Haddock and take stock exchange. His theatre work has always focused on the way we interact with places and spaces and what that can tell us about ourselves. 'I try to make stories as accessible as possible. I am interested in breaking the convention of theatre where the audience sit quietly, I get them up on stage and hopefully make them feel so comfortable that if they want to talk to me during the show....they can.' www.nickcassenbaum.com

Bubble Schmeisis is directed by Danny Braverman who won critical acclaim at the Edinburgh Festival, with his one-man-show Wot? No Fish!! He is co-director of the newly reformed Bread and Circuses and has also worked with the National Theatre, Graeae Theatre Company and Theatre Royal Stratford East.

Bubble Schmeisis tour listings

Nick Cassenbaum's intimate, funny and deeply personal show featuring true stories about identity set in East London's last surviving schvitz (steam bath house).

7 May 7pm

Leeds Slung Low's HUB, Holbeck Underground Ballroom 67-71 Bath Rd Holbeck LS11 9UA

£pay what you decide www.slunglow.org

8 May 7.45pm

Huddersfield

Lawrence Batley Theatre, Queen's Square, Queen Street, HD1 2SP

£pay what you decide 01484 430528 www.thelbt.org

18th May 8pm

Oxford The North Wall, South Parade OX2 7JN

£14/£12/£10 01865 319450 www.thenorthwall.com

23, 24, 25, 26, 27 May 7.30pm

Exeter Bike Shed Theatre 162/3 Fore Street, Exeter EX4 3AT

£12/£10/£8 01392 434169 bikeshedtheatre.co.uk

5 June 8pm

Ipswich PULSE FESTIVAL New Wolsey Theatre Studio, St Georges Street IP1 3NF

£10/£5 01473 295900 www.wolseytheatre.co.uk

13 June 7.30pm

Sheffield Theatre Delicatessen 17 The Moor, S1 4PF

£9/£8/£7/£6 www.theatredelicatessen.co.uk

26 June 6pm

Rugby Festival on the Close, Macready Theatre, Rugby School, Laurence Sherriff Street CV22 5EH,

£10.00 01788 556 216 www.festival.msoclient.site

Written and performed by Nick Cassenbaum

Directed by Danny Braverman 'Wot?No Fish!!'

Live music by Daniel Gouly and Josh Middleton

Produced by Sian Baxter

Sponsored by the New Docklands Steam Baths www.newdocklands.co.uk

(Quote the show and your first visit is half price!)

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