RATING (out of five): ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 

Tradition! as the opening song of this production enthusiastically belts out, dictates that this review should really only concentrate on what happened on stage, and it will, for the most part.

But there is also an elephant in the room which should be addressed. This poignant musical tells the story of a Jewish family and community in turn-of-the-century Russia. Every theme Fiddler on the Roof deals with, family, culture, love, prejudice and politics, plays out against a backdrop of a looming pogrom, the name given to the depressingly frequent and often violent organised historical persecutions of Jewish people in Russia and Eastern Europe. Similar antisemitic rampages have shamed the world for centuries.

Today in Britain, and around the world, Jews face very real and deadly threats, the Manchester Synagogue terror attack and the Bondi Beach atrocity in Australia, to mention just two recent examples. On December 23, two men were convicted of planning an Islamic State-inspired gun attack on a mass gathering of Jews in the UK.

Sadly, the antisemitism rumbling in the background of this stunning musical seems more relevant than ever for the world. It’s a message that should not be overlooked and one I feel we should take heed of and understand. 

Right, now let’s review this marvellous musical. 

Unlike many, I have never seen the much acclaimed 1971 film adaptation of the original 1964 Broadway musical of Fiddler on the Roof. And to my shame I didn’t realise many of the iconic songs I was about to hear were part of this production. 

Birmingham’s beautiful Alexandra Theatre is hosting the Olivier award-winning Bock, Stein and Harnick musical based on the short stories of Sholem Aleichem. The tale revolves around Tevye, a poor Jewish milkman with five daughters struggling to make a living in the village of Anatevka, and his attempts to keep up traditions in a changing and dangerous world. 

Matthew Woodyatt, playing Tevye, brings just the right balance of worn-out dad and proud parent to his portrayal of the central character patriarch. His often amusing rhetorical conversations with God as he faces the different challenges of fatherhood provide a relatable vulnerability and comedic interlude. 

Tevye, supported by his quick-witted and acid-tongued wife Golde, played by Jodie Jacobs, face the test of how to raise five daughters and, as tradition dictates, choose their suitors to map out their prospects in life. The problem is in this story, the daughters have their own ideas about the suitors they want to choose. 

Tevye’s solo rendition of “If I Were a Rich Man” was one of the stand out songs of the show. So too is the emotional exchange between the milkman and his wife Golde, with the very recognisable sentiment, for married people at least, of “Do You Love Me?”.

Tevye’s eldest daughter Tzeitel (Natasha Jules Bernard) is the first to face a battle with tradition when a match is chosen for her in the shape of elderly village butcher Lazar Wolf (Michael S. Siegel). He is put forward as a possible husband by the community’s hilarious matchmaker, widow Yente (Beverley Klein). 

Geeky and earnest tailor Motel (Dan Wolff) is Tzeitel’s preferred love match and the pair’s pleading with Tevye to allow them to marry begins the central theme of what is to come. 

The family’s second-eldest daughter, the strong-willed Hodel (Georgia Bruce) is the next to test her parents’ patience when she falls for the young revolutionary arrived from out of town, Perchick (Greg Bernstein). 

And finally, bookish and quiet Chava (Hannah Bristow) is perhaps the most moving love and heartbreaking story, as she begins to take a liking to a suitor outside of her family’s Jewish faith. 

The threads of the stories of the three daughters are perfectly explained in this production and simple human truths are well conveyed by the cast and choreography.

A wedding, drunken village night out, a superb rip-roaring bottle dance, and even a bizarre ghost story, all combine to make a great backdrop for the strife faced by Tevye and his family.

The looming spectre of political turbulence and prejudice also threatens to arrive on the doorstep of Anatevka at any time. 

Fiddler on the Roof made me laugh, it brought a tear to my eye, and it made me think about the state of the world today. Not bad for a story about one family living in a nowhere village in Imperial Russia. 

And all the while, the fiddler (Roman Lytwyniw) plays on.

THE ALEXANDRA, BIRMINGHAM Dates: Tue 9 Dec – Sat 3 Jan Website: https://www.atgtickets.com/venues/the-alexandra-theatre-birmingham/