The First Shlemiel
An Evening of Short Stories by Isaac B. Singer
A free livestream event on Saturday, 20th February 2020 at 7.30 p.m.
Schlemiel: ‘stupid, awkward or unlucky person’. From Yiddish.
Oxford English Dictionary
Isaac Bashevis Singer’s story ‘The First Shlemiel’ is probably the most famous of the ‘Chelm’ stories. In Jewish folklore, the residents of Chelm were always made fun of for their foolishness.
In our first tale of the evening, Rebecca Garron reads a story about the Shlemiel family. The lazy, awkward and foolish husband, Mr Shlemiel, is left alone by Mrs Shlemiel to look after Little Shlemiel while she goes to sell vegetables at the market. However, she has left him with three rules that he must adhere to. Tune in to find out what ensues!
You can watch our reading live on Saturday, 21st February at 7.30 p.m. by clicking on the following link. Our reading will be available to watch for 6 months.
A Spotify playlist with a selection of music from our evening can also be found here:
The stories are © The Isaac Bashevis Singer Literary Trust
Reading by permission of Liepman AG, Zurich
COUCH THEATRE 