Is there such a thing as a coincidence?

I HAD an extraordinary time last week at the theatre. I went to see Tracey-Ann Oberman’s version of The Merchant Of Venice. The actress plays Shylock in a production set against the rise in anti-Semitism in 1930s Britain.

It struck me as unbelievably timely given the horrific rise in anti-Semitism today. I assumed the production was a response to current events when in fact, it’s been five years in the making and was first presented before the October 7 attacks.

It brought to mind 20th century Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung who came up with the idea of ‘synchronicity’ and was convinced that everything in the universe is intimately connected and that things like coincidences were evidence of something larger, that he called the collective unconscious.

He believed we all share some elements of unconsciousness with all other people, something we tap into without realising it, but that influences our choices and understanding of the world.

According to Jung’s theory, Tracey-Ann had sensed the future rise in anti-Semitism and responded with this production at exactly the time it was most needed. Of course, this doesn’t stand up to scientific scrutiny. It could just be coincidence.

But I like the reminder that we are all connected by a common humanity. Maybe it doesn’t even matter what the explanation is.

The fact remains that last week I stood in a theatre in a city that has seen so much hostility and aggression week in and week out towards the Jewish community and clapped and cheered actors who were making a stand against anti-Semitism and were reminding us that hate will only ever tear us apart.