The Interrogation of Baruch de Spinoza at Talmud Torah Congregation: Amsterdam, July 27, 1656

by David Ives
Directed by Gary Payne

Amsterdam’s Sephardic Jews have made a fatal arrangement with the city, agreeing to police their own community for unorthodox beliefs. Spinoza is accused of atheism and summoned to the synagogue to defend himself against the Jewish AND Christian hierarchy. In this eloquent and masterful drama, David Ives attempts to open the temple doors to listen in on a dispute whose philosophical and political echoes still reverberate today.