Avrom Greenbaum (1903-1963) was actor-manager of the Jewish Institute (later Avrom Greenbaum) Players. The amateur group was formed in 1936 in the Jewish Institute at South Portland Street, Glasgow. Greenbaum helmed this first all-Jewish drama group in Scotland as playwright, actor and producer. The group focused on productions that engaged with Jewish identity, for instance featuring the folk drama The Dybbuk performed as part of the 1951 Festival of Jewish Arts. Beyond that, they concentrated on working-class themes, staging plays by Sean O’Casey, Maxim Gorki and Clifford Odets). After the death of their founder Greenbaum in 1963, the Avrom Greenbaum Players remained active into the 1980s. A collection of material on Greenbaum and the Jewish Institute Players, Glasgow, and their theatre, called Bloch Little Theatre, is held by the Scottish Jewish Archives Centre.

Bibliography:

Alan D. Slater, “The Glasgow Jewish Institute Players” Jewish Quarterly 4.2 (1956): 35-37.

Deborah Butcher, “Scoping the collections: The Avrom Greenbaum Players”, Jewish Lives, Scottish Spaces. Jewish Migration to Scotland, 1880-1950.http://jewishmigrationtoscotland.is.ed.ac.uk/