The Yiddish Book Center's

Wexler Oral History Project

A growing collection of in-depth interviews with people of all ages and backgrounds, whose stories about the legacy and changing nature of Yiddish language and culture offer a rich and complex chronicle of Jewish identity.

"So Much of the Foundation of that Company Was About Finding a Reason to Stay Alive": The Origins of the Vilna Troupe

Watch now:

Caraid O'Brien—writer, performer, and director, including of Yiddish works—discusses the founding and emergence of the Vilna Troupe during World War I. She references Leib Kadison, Luba Kadison and Joseph Buloff's involvement in the influential theater company that served as departure from all the pain people were surrounded by during the years of dislocation and war in the 19-teens.

This is an excerpt from an oral history with Caraid O'Brien.

This excerpt is in English.

Caraid O'Brien was born in Galway, Ireland in 1974.

This interview is part of the Yiddish and the Arts: musicians, actors, and artists series.


Other video highlights from this oral history