By Rita Charleston

Although Timothy Kolman says his play, “The Roses in June,” currently being staged at Plays & Players Theatre, 1714 Delancey Place in Center City, through July 1, is not strictly autobiographical, it does deal with undeniable similarities to his own family history.

Kolman was born and raised in London. His parents were Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany. “In my play, Ingrid and George Rose have successfully rebuilt their lives in Britain, but when their 15-year-old son, Paul, is a victim of bullying and anti-Semitism at school, the trauma of their own persecution re-emerges,” Kolman says. “The play is about how Paul tries to deal with the issues by himself since his parents are unable to do so because of the persecution they themselves had faced.”

“The Roses in June,” set in London on the eve of Israel’s 1967 Six-Day War, explores the struggle of love, fear, regret and forgiveness on the eve of a possible second Holocaust and against the burdens of prejudice, traumatic memory and the complex attitude of the English towards Jewish people as the school attempts, at all costs, to avoid any scandal.

Growing up, Kolman was educated at the prestigious St. Paul's School in London. He then studied Scottish law at the University of Glasgow, where he graduated with a double honors degree in Jurisprudence and Politics, but he “escaped,” he laughs, “before they could put a gown and wig on me.” He later moved to Israel, where he met his wife (now deceased) before coming to Philadelphia. He continued his study of law at the University of Pennsylvania.

“I believe it was the 50th anniversary of Israel's Six-Day War that got me thinking about the Holocaust again. Sometimes it takes that long to put everything into perspective,” says the first-time playwright who now lives in Elkins Park and is an attorney specializing in employment law. “I believe the play has a universal theme that audiences can relate to. The issue of the war combined with the issues of anti-Semitism around the world made me think seriously about the past and try to put it into perspective in play form.”

Kolman says the main message in his play is that human beings do not have to allow differences between them to cause inhumane behavior between them. People of good faith can respect the contributions of someone else's religion and culture. “I do believe that inhumanity thrives in an atmosphere of ignorance, hatred and dehumanization. We do not have to let others divide us.”

At age 64 and the father of four grown children, Kolman says he's also working on plays two and three, although he does “need time to earn a living as well. It's difficult to write convincingly when you haven't yet given up your day job. So it takes me some time to get everything right and see that the work has the quality I'm looking for.”

(Ed. Note: strictly out of curiosity, I looked up Mr. Kolman's ratings on LawyerRatingz.com, on which clients can rate their attorneys in five categories. I checked out the 16 client ratings posted over the last four years. Fifteen gave Kolman five “5s,” which is the highest score possible. The other one gave him four “5s” and one “4.” The first rating, posted on April 29 of this year, said: “There is not a single lawyer out there that is as intelligent, knowledgeable, polished, professional and well spoken as Timothy Kolman … He is a good person and a fabulous lawyer. Timothy has represented me twice, and both times we won ... I can't thank Timothy Kolman enough for his candid personality, his talent and expertise in what he does. He is a true artist when defending you and your case. If I could give him 10 stars, I would.”)

For ticket information to “The Roses in June,” call 866-811-4111.