Cling to Me Like Ivy is a 2010 play by playwright Samantha Ellis staged at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre on 11 February 2010 [1] directed by Sarah Esdaile. It was inspired [2] by a chance remark by Victoria Beckham which sparked a crisis in the Orthodox Jewish community over the wigs worn by married women. [3] The cast was: Gethin Anthony, Amanda Boxer, Mona Goodwin, David Hartley, Edward Halsted and Emily Holt. It was published by Nick Hern Books. [4] The Guardian called it "funny, sad and compassionate...that genuinely rare beast, a popular comedy with heart, brains and the stomach to make some difficult choices". [5]
Haredi Judaism consists of groups within Orthodox Judaism characterized by a strict adherence to halakha and traditions, as opposed to modern values and practices. Its members are often referred to as strictly Orthodox or ultra-Orthodox in English; however, the term "ultra-Orthodox" is considered pejorative by many of its adherents. Haredi Jews regard themselves as the most religiously authentic group of Jews, although this claim is contested by other streams of Judaism.
Samantha Karen Fox is a British singer, songwriter, actress, and former glamour model. In 1983, at age 16, she began appearing as a topless model on Page 3 of British tabloid newspaper The Sun, and continued as a Page 3 girl until 1986. During this time, she became the most popular pin-up girl of her era, as well as one of the most photographed British women of the 1980s.
Samantha Jane Morton is an English actress and director. She is known for her work in independent productions often with dark themes and has received numerous accolades, including a British Academy Television Award, a British Independent Film Award and a Golden Globe Award, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a British Academy Film Award.
A snood is a type of traditionally female headgear designed to hold the hair in a cloth or yarn bag. In the most common form, the headgear resembles a close-fitting hood worn over the back of the head. It is similar to a hairnet, but snoods typically have a looser fit, a much coarser mesh, and noticeably thicker yarn. A tighter-mesh band may cover the forehead or crown, then run behind the ears, and under the nape of the neck. A sack of sorts dangles from this band, covering and containing the fall of long hair gathered at the back. A snood sometimes was made of solid fabric, but more often of loosely knitted yarn or other net-like material. Historically a small bag of fine thread—netted, tatted, knitted, crocheted, or knotted —enclosed a bob of long hair on the back of the head or held it close to the nape.
Samantha Bond is an English actress, who is best known for playing Miss Moneypenny in four James Bond films during the Pierce Brosnan years, and for her role on Downton Abbey as the wealthy widow Lady Rosamund Painswick, sister of Robert Crawley, the Earl of Grantham. She is also well-known for originating the role of "Miz Liz" Probert in the Rumpole of the Bailey series. Bond is a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Samantha Zoe Womack is a British actress, singer, model and director who has worked in film, television and stage.
Tracy Ann Oberman is an English television, theatre, and radio actress who rose to prominence for her role as Chrissie Watts in BBC soap opera EastEnders from 2004 to 2005.
Samantha Judith Ronson is an English DJ, singer and songwriter who lives in Santa Monica, California.
Karren Rita Brady, Baroness Brady, is a British sporting executive, politician, television personality, newspaper columnist, author and novelist. She is the former managing director of Birmingham City F.C. and current vice-chairman of West Ham United F.C.. She is featured in the BBC One series The Apprentice as an aide to Alan Sugar. She was the Small Business Ambassador to the UK Government under Prime Minister David Cameron.
The Ivy is a restaurant which is popular with celebrities, people from the arts and media and theatregoers. It is situated in West Street, near Cambridge Circus in London, opposite the Ambassadors and St Martin's theatres. The Ivy now has branches in Britain and Ireland..
Sheitel is a wig or half-wig worn by some Orthodox Jewish married women in order to conform with the requirement of Jewish law to cover their hair. Some Hasidic groups encourage sheitels, while others avoid them.
Luciana Clare Berger is a British Liberal Democrat politician who was Member of Parliament (MP) for Liverpool Wavertree from 2010 to 2019. She resigned from the Labour Party in 2019 and co-founded The Independent Group, later Change UK. She later joined the Liberal Democrats. A former member of the Official Opposition frontbench, she served under Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn as Shadow Minister for Mental Health from 2015 to 2016.
Gail Dines is professor emerita of sociology and women's studies at Wheelock College in Boston, Massachusetts.
Timothy Richard Downie is an English actor and writer. He is best known for the television series Toast of London, Outlander and Upstart Crow, and the films Paddington and The King's Speech.
Samantha Ellis is a British playwright and writer. Her 2010 play Cling to Me Like Ivy was described by The Guardian newspaper as "genuinely rare beast, a popular comedy with heart, brains and the stomach to make some difficult choices".
One Billion Rising is a global campaign, founded by Eve Ensler, to end rape and sexual violence against women. It was started in 2012 as part of the V-Day movement. The "billion" refers to the UN statistic that one in three women will be raped or beaten in her lifetime, or about one billion. The campaign expands each year. In 2016, the theme of the campaign is Rise for Revolution. "This year's campaign will escalate the collective actions of activists worldwide, and amplify their call for systematic changes towards ending violence against women and children once and for all," said OBR global director, Monique Wilson.
Ephraim Mirvis is an Orthodox rabbi who serves as the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth. Traditionally the Chief Rabbi serves as the head of all British Jews as the Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. He served as the Chief Rabbi of Ireland between 1985 and 1992.
Jessica Rose Phillips is a British Labour Party politician. She has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Birmingham Yardley since the 2015 general election. She has served in Keir Starmer’s Opposition frontbench as Shadow Minister for Domestic Violence and Safeguarding since 2020.