One of the most successful Canadian plays of the last few years, Zadie’s Shoes tells the story of Benjamin - a compulsive gambler who's just lost the money for his girlfriend's trip to an “alternative” cancer clinic in Mexico. With only 72 hours to win it back, a desperate Benjamin finds himself at synagogue for the first time since his Bar Mitzvah, praying for a miracle… or a winner. What he gets is rabbi "prophet" Eli, who, along with rabbinical advice, gives him a warning about cabbages… and a hot tip on a horse! In the fast-paced, madcap worlds of horse-racing, addictions and championship curling, Zadie's Shoes provides a hilarious yet moving look at the nature of luck and the power of faith.

Adam Pettle’s play was the surprise hit of Toronto’s 2000 theatre season, transferring to Ed Mirvish’s Winter Garden Theatre for a sell-out run.

The cast includes Dylan Smith whose credits include Ricardo in BBC’s EastEnders and Luke in The Tapes (Old Red Lion).

The show features an original score by Jack Arnold who has composed music for BBC’s Timewatch - Ramesses III and the forthcoming feature film Oh! Marbella starring Rick Mayall and Mike Reid.

"Adam Pettle isn't afraid to mix humour and emotion, to tiptoe along the knife edge between comedy and tragedy. Zadie's Shoes is tense, daring, funny, thoughtful, and touching" Variety

“Adam Pettle writes about the Toronto Jewish experience as Woody Allen does about New York, but like Allen, his themes are universal” Classic FM

The Press on Zadie's Shoes
“Everyone is in need of a cure in Adam Pettle’s Canadian hit. There are some weighty themes here: addiction, inheritance, luck, faith which are blended, if not seamlessly, then at least with wit and assurance, into an entertaining and affecting family drama...the excellent cast in Lauren Fedyna’s accomplished production . . .
Best of all, though, is Leonard Fenton, who exudes a very appealing contained good humour as Eli and delivers the opening anecdotal riff on the number eight with just the right degree of mystical playfulness.” Robert Shore, Time Out

“This is the second offering by Canadian playwright Adam Pettle to reach these shores. The first, Sunday Father, recently made its debut at the Hampstead. But although appearing at the smaller - and increasingly admirable – Finborough, there can be little doubt that Zadie’s Shoes is the better-constructed play. The title refers to the shoes that were lost in a card game by the Polish grandfather of Pettle’s hero Benjamin (Dylan Smith), an aspiring writer and reluctant waiter. The gambling gene has been passed to Benjamin who blows on a bet the money reserved to take his cancer-riddled girlfriend Ruth (Jennifer Lee Jellicorse) to Mexico for some last ditch treatment. The stakes are high and Pettle’s theme here is the baggage and heritage passed down the generations – in this case the genetic predisposition to gamble, cancer, and being Jewish…the author has a terrific ear for dialogue, and a rare talent for injecting a witty line where lesser writers would stick to high drama…As the wise, old Jewish prophet Eli, Leonard Fenton gives solid support to fine performances by Smith and especially Jellicorse, who knows how to time a line.” John Nathan, Jewish Chronicle

“Warm hearted without becoming sentimental, play and production share honesty and human understanding…A popular success in the playwright’s home country, Canada, this is another enjoyable play introduced to Britain thanks to the Finborough...Danny Babington’s alert, precise performance, given sympathy by its comic edge...its well worth seeing as a view of fallible people coping with human weaknesses and the tension this puts on trust....Lauren Fedyna’s sympathetic production…Surely a dependable play like this would be a better occupant for mid size West End Theatres than some of the work they’re currently housing.” Timothy Ramsden, Reviewsgate.com