
Sunday 11th & 18th September @ 2pm, The Vestry, Plymouth Synagogue, Catherine St, Plymouth, PL1 2AD.
Admission – £8 (cash only on the door).
A Performance Lecture
Created by David Prescott & Performed by Derek Frood
Plymouth born Solomon Hart became the first Jewish member of the Royal Academy of Arts with a giant painting that was hung in the old Plymouth Municipal Building.
A painting that hasn’t been seen for over a hundred years.
Sunday 11th & 18th September @ 2pm
The Vestry, Plymouth Synagogue
Catherine St, Plymouth, PL1 2AD
Admission – £8 (cash only on the door)
Hart of Plymouth
Across the road from the Plymouth Guildhall, on what is now Royal Parade, was its sister edifice the Plymouth Municipal Building. This housed the Council Chamber and in it hung a huge painting, virtually four metres square in its chunky gilt frame. The painting was ‘Lady Jane Grey at the place of her execution’ by a notable painter of the time, who had gifted it to his home town.


Solomon Alexander Hart was born in Plymouth in 1806, a third generation Jewish immigrant, who went on to become probably the best known and most influential Jewish artist in the UK in the 19th century. Performed by Plymouth actor, Derek Frood (Poldark, Manhunt), this work-in-progress performance celebrates a forgotten story, the city’s three hundred year old Jewish community and a significant painting unseen for over a century.
This show for the Plymouth History Festival is supported and funded by The Box, the Plymouth Synagogue & Ripple Theatre with the Research & Development funded by Arts Council England.
