I NTE R N ATI O N A L E X P OSU R E FO R IS R AE LI TH E ATR E A N D IS R A- D R A M A 2013
PROGRAMME
CONTENTS
2 GREETINGS 3 PREFACE 6 SCHEDULE 10 ANTI 12
SADDAM HUSSEIN
14
THE SEAGULL
16 IGLOO 18
NO ONE DIES IN VAIN
20
THIS IS THE LAND
22
DING DONG
24
LIFE & STRIVE
26
LOTTERY EXPERIMENT
28
MYSTERIUM COSMOGRAPHICUM
30
EXIT THE KING
32 IPHIGENIA @ AULIS 34
LITTLE MAN, WHAT NOW?
37 A TOUR OF THE ALTERNATIVE SCENE IN SOUTH TEL AVIV 38
SYMPOSIUM: ISRAELI DRAMA
40 SYMPOSIUM: BETWEEN THEATRE, POLITICS AND SOCIETY 42 AN EVENING IN HONOR OF HANOCH LEVIN 44 BEYOND WORDS, AN EVENT IN BEIT MAZYA THEATRE 46 THE OPPOSITE OF ALIVE AND GUESTS, AN EVENT IN THE NATURE MUSEUM
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International Exposure for Israeli Theatre and Isra-Drama
Greetings Raphael Gamzou
Dear Guests, It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to our International Exposure for Israeli Theatre and Isra-Drama 2013 – a spotlight on Israeli drama. As a diplomat I attach a great deal of importance to cultural dialogue, and therefore your presence here is so meaningful. The next few days will allow you to get a glimpse not only of our dramatic arts, but also of the dramas of our life. You will hear the Hebrew language in the street and on stage – one of the amazing achievements of the Zionist revolution and the rebirth of the State of Israel. You will also hear Arabic, our second official language, spoken by 20% of our citizens. You will witness our vibrant democracy and the absolute freedom of expression on stage, in panel discussions, and in our press and media. You will get the flavor of our creative, courageous, and often selfcritical and soul-searching theatre. I want to thank the Artistic Committee, our partners, and the production team for organizing this event, which I am confident will be an eye-opening experience for you. Enjoy, and have a good time in Israel. SHALOM, Raphael Gamzou Head of the Division for Cultural and Scientific Affairs Ministry of Foreign Affairs Jerusalem
Preface Lilach Dekel-Avneri
Dear Guests and Participants, We are delighted to open International Exposure for Israeli Theatre and Isra-Drama in a festival which, for the first time, unites two previous traditions in a stimulating program and a variety of special events. This year’s festival presents twenty-eight works enabling observation of the wide range of local artistic endeavor. Theater, the art of the here and now, is developing in Israel under complex social, economic, political, and cultural conditions, and consequently produces rich and varied performance forms. Recent years have seen an increasing trend indicating a turnabout not only in terms of the subjects and content, but also in the development of means of expression and new theatrical languages. Since the late 1980s and the establishment of ensembles such as Ensemble 209 under the direction of artist Tamar Raban, Tmu-na Ensemble directed by Nava Zuckerman, Akko Theater Center and its director Dudu Maayan, and The Zik Group; the establishment of cultural institutions like the School of Visual Theatre in Jerusalem, founded by Hadas Ofrat, Hazira Performing Arts Arena, alongside the ever-increasing openness of artists and audiences alike toward a new and challenging theater, a new generation of artists influenced by various media is flourishing. Together with writers influenced by writing styles that are not drama in the traditional sense of the word, post-dramatic works are also emerging in which the text is only part of the action. This year’s International Exposure opens a window onto the many faces of Israeli theater, the topics with which its writers engage, and the esthetics unique to each of them. Contemporary Israeli theater art no longer necessarily tells a story in linear form, or with consecutive dramatic scenes. It has no hesitation in combining storytelling with dramatic scenes adapted from literature with the aid of images, objects, puppets, and soundscape, as in No One Dies in Vain, by Shahar Pinkas, directed by Shir Goldberg, or in employing the language of cabaret and circus with touches of kitsch and popular culture in order to present dark periods in history, as in Itay Tiran’s adaptation of Hans Fallada’s novel, Little Man, What Now? Israeli theater endeavor is seeking a new dramatic matrix, as it does in the
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International Exposure for Israeli Theatre and Isra-Drama
tragicomedy Igloo, written and directed by Yehezkel Lazarov, who plays with the detective motif, shatters it, and reassembles it. Pseudo-documentary works which respond to seminal events in Israeli culture, such as Saddam Hussein, A Mystery Play, by Yonatan Levy, Eyal Weiser’s This is the Land – The Zionist Creation Rejects’ Salon – Plan B, and The City by members of the Victor Jackson Show, tell the story by means of cheerful-distressing theatrical situations and unique esthetics marking the new political drama. We can find strategies that attempt to make the performance personal and authentic in the works of the writers of the Beyond Words collection: Nava Frenkel and Nevo Romano, Emanuella Amichai, Sigalit Fuchs and Yehudit Ginger, in which the influence of dance on theater is clearly evident. Attempts to engage with new performance forms and developments in performance art are presented in the new works of the veteran ensembles. In Ding Dong, Tamar Raban reconstructs the space, rhythm, and time while using Lorca’s original text in the group’s theatrical event. The Zik Group presents Mysterium Cosmographicum, a performance without words celebrating technological advances, with the ceremony served modestly and with exemplary calmness by the members of the group to the sound of music performed by leading pianists in real time. The uniqueness of the stage character (in the event that there is a stage) in several other works is challenged, and the distinction between actor and character becomes blurred. On occasion members of the audience also become actors, as in social events that take place outside the traditional auditoriums, thus redefining the theater’s boundaries: Saar Székely and Keren Sheffi’s The Lottery, and Life & Strive by Anat Eisenberg, in which the actors and the text are rearranged every evening. Thus too, but with a difference, is the performance The Opposite of Alive by Michal Vaaknin and Ilanit Ben Yaacov, which appropriated the Nature Museum, with its history and exhibits, to create a personal experience and narrative for each participant. This year some interesting attempts have also been made with classical masterpieces in which the handwriting of the director, the dramaturge, and
Preface Lilach Dekel-Avneri
the various designers is clearly evident both in the dramaturgical inquiry and in casting new meaning. This is the case in the dramatic stretching of time and the reorganization of Chekhov’s The Seagull, directed by Ira Avneri and magically lighted by Yaron Abulafia, or the adaptation of the chorus’s text in Anouilh’s Anti (Antigone) by dramaturge and translator Roee Chen, which was directed by Yevgeny Arye. This year, the spectacular and longstanding collaboration between Israel Prize laureate director Rina Yerushalmi, lighting designer Bambi Avi-Yonah, and musician Avi Balali, has given us a prizewinning version of Ionesco’s Exit the King, and the critical interpretation that imposed a stylized and technological world upon Iphigenia at Aulis, directed by Gadi Roll. In these productions the stage arrangements, with all their dramatic means, weave fundamental lines of interpretation into the text. Events are also planned which will expose additional works, such as the Symposium on Israeli Drama and the Political Symposium, which will facilitate collaboration and networking for guests and local creators, and also the icing on the cake with which we will start the first day – a tour of the avant-garde spaces of the local scene: The Hanut 31 - Theater & Gallery and The Zimmer Studio. This diversity of styles in theaters large and small, and in the independent scene, indicates a conscious engagement with the here and now of performance methods and the way they are perceived, with the aim of leading the audience to reflect not only on what is presented, but also on the performance’s structure and visual language. I would like to thank the members of the Artistic Committee – all of whom are leading professionals: researchers, creators, cultural leaders, and establishment representatives who have devoted their time and energy in watching approximately 150 works submitted this year. Thanks, too, to the production team that successfully forded the rivers of work, and did so with professional enthusiasm. We invite you to enjoy this celebration of theatre together with us, to expand our network and let art widen the bridge between cultures. Lilach Dekel-Avneri, Artistic Director
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I NTE R NATI O NAL E X P OSU R E FO R ISR AE LI TH E ATR E AN D IS R A- D R A M A 2 013
LINEUP
TUESDAY, 19.11.13
16:30 Reception at Cinema Hotel 18:00 Tour: South Tel Aviv Alternative Venues (90 min.) Hanut31 - Theater & Gallery and The Zimmer 20:00 A nti (Antigone) (90 min.) Gesher Theatre WEDNESDAY, 20.11.13
09:45 S addam Hussein, a Mystery Play (55 min.) Nachmani Theatre – Itim Ensemble 11:30 The Seagull (180 min.) Tmu-na Theatre 16:30 Igloo (80 min.) Tmu-na Theatre 19:15 Introduction to Dvora Baron (30 min.), Habima National Theatre 20:00 No One Dies in Vain (100 min.) Habima National Theatre THURSDAY, 21.11.13
Note: All the performances will be followed by a 20 - minute discussion with the artists.
09:30 S ymposium on Israeli Drama. Tmu-na Theatre bar
14:00 T his is the Land (80 min.) Tmu-na Theatre 16:00 D ing Dong (150 min.) Ensemble 209 19:30 Mini Symposium: Lost Battle - dedicated to the work of Hanoch Levin (40 min) The Cameri Theatre of Tel Aviv 20:30 R equiem (90 min.) The Cameri Theatre of Tel Aviv FRIDAY, 22.11.13
09:30 Life & Strive (120 min.) Depart from Cinema Hotel 12:00 S ymposium: Between Theatre, Politics, and Society (180 min.) Arab-Hebrew Theatre, Jaffa 19:00 Lottery Experiment (240 min.) Taurus 9, Jaffa SATURDAY, 23.11.13
10:00 B eyond Words – scenes from selected works (150 min). Mazya Theatre, Jerusalem 12:30 Tour: The Old City of Jerusalem
16:00 Mysterium Cosmographicum (60 min) Zik Group Studio – Beit Nekofa 19:00 T he Opposite of Alive and Guests (240 min) Nature Museum, Jerusalem SUNDAY, 24.11.13
09:30 Summary discussion at Mazeh 9 11:00 E xit The King (90 min.) Nachmani 4 – Itim Ensemble 14:45 Tour: Drijat Village 17:00 I phigenia @ Aulis (90 min.) Beer-Sheva Theatre 20:30 L ittle Man, What Now? (165 min.) The Cameri Theatre of Tel Aviv
Farewell Party
THE COMPLETE SHOWS
ANTI (Antigone) pg.10 / SADDAM HUSSEIN pg.12 / THE SEAGULL pg.14 / IGLOO pg.16 / NO ONE DIES IN VAIN pg.18 / THIS IS THE LAND pg.20 / DING DONG pg.22 / LIFE & STRIVE LOTTERY EXPERIMENT pg.26 / MYSTERIUM COSMOGRAPHICUM pg.28 / EXIT THE KING pg.30 / IPHIGENIA @ AULIS pg.32 / LITTLE MAN, WHAT NOW? pg.34
pg.24
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10 International Exposure for Israeli Theatre and Isra-Drama The Complete Shows
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Email: lena@gesher-t.co.il Website: www.gesher-theatre.co.il
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Anti (Antigone)
i t n A
Photograph: Daniel Kaminski
( A n it g
Perhaps the turmoil of our times may still bring about the upheaval of conventions by a brave young person
Gesher Theatre
Contact: Guy Biran
Wednesday November 20 9:45 am
YONATAN LEVY
Written & directed by
Saddam Hussein,
Saddam Hussein focuses on the Iraqi tyrant’s last days in his bunker, locked up with three of his doubles, shortly before George W. Bush’s soldiers enter. Quadruply reflected, Saddam experiences inner visions, culminating in a final initiation rite which strikes the esoteric meaning of oil. The actors, all mustachioed, deliver their lines – an ambiguous mélange of metaphysical poetry and pretentious nonsense, while they constantly change roles from Americans to Iraqis and back. Saddam Hussein won 2nd place, along with prizes for best play and best music, at the Acco Festival for Alternative Theatre 2011.
12 International Exposure for Israeli Theatre and Isra-Drama
Phone: +972-2-6783378 Mobile: +972-54-6999255
The Complete Shows 2 13
Email: direct@hazira.org.il Website: www.hazira.org.il
Hazira Performing Arts Arena
“... This is undoubtedly one of the most original and funny shows I have seen, also thanks to the anarchistic energies rising from the superb performance of Levy and his collaborators.” Yedioth Ahronoth
prizes for best play and best music Acco Festival
an ambiguous mélange of metaphysical poetry and pretentious nonsense
A Mystery Play Saddam Hussein, A Mystery Play 13
Photograph: Eyal Landesman
The Seagull
Contact: Ira Avneri
Phone: +972-36811550 Mobile: +972-507-320642
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IRA AVNERI
International Exposure for Israeli Theatre and Isra-Drama
Adapted & directed by:
A new adaptation that offers a visual-based interpretation. Each of the acts has its own spatial language, created on stage by the actors out of the specific kind of dramatic absence that the characters share in it. The visual images blur distinctions between inner and spaces; between ‘real’ and ‘artificial’ nature; and between Treplyov’s artistic activity as a playwright and director in the first act, and his activity as a writer in the last act, which takes place in a space that is now ruled by a new logic, leading to the tragic end.
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Email: iravneri@gmail.com Website: www.canettiandtalents.com
ov daptati o
n Chekh
11:30 am
November 20
Wednesday
after An
A visua
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Tmu-na Theatre
la
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“…Avneri has succeeded in tapping into the consciousness of our time, translating Chekhov’s world into a contemporary environment and sensibility. In stripping the play down to the bare essentials, Avneri has touched its essence.” (Midnight East website)
“…Ira Avneri’s production shows us theatre as it should be – exciting and alive…” (Habama)
“…An impressive visual adaptation…. I really liked it.” (Haaretz)
The Seagull 15
Photograph: Gadi Dagon
Contact: Ketty Bar
Phone: + 972-3-6850015 Mobile: +972-544-591912
YEHEZKEL LAZAROV
International Exposure for Israeli Theatre and Isra-Drama
Written & directed by:
Through burning and freezing, remembering and imagining, the igloo is present as a peaceful haven in the midst of the couple’s revenge fantasy.
Igloo
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Email: lazarovyehezkel@gmail.com
Tmu-na Theatre
Wednesday, November 20, 4:30 pm
For the past three years, Rafi has been following Lenny, his childhood sweetheart. When he realizes Lenny has criminal intentions toward her father, Rafi asks her to fly with him to Alaska. The story of Lenny and Rafi moves back and forth in time, painting the image of two emotionally damaged characters with a shared childhood memory. Through burning and freezing, remembering and imagining, the igloo is present as a peaceful haven in the midst of the couple’s revenge fantasy.
Igloo 17
Photograph: Daniel Kaminski
Contact: Ruth Tonn Mendelson
Phone: +972-3-526663213 Mobile: +972-52-8561885
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Wednesday, November 20, 8:00 pm
The Complete Shows
No One Dies in Vain
International Exposure for Israeli Theatre and Isra-Drama
It is a story about people who try to stand upright in a society where the economic and social gaps are intolerable
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Email: rut@habima.org.il Website: www.habima.co.il
Habima National Theatre
workers’ rights; the und ertaker buries the dead. And throughout, Ziva, the dog searches for a home. It is a story about people who try to stand upright in a society where the economic and social gaps are intolerable; sometimes they achieve a few moments of grace.
Shir Goldberg
Directed by:
Dvora Baron
After stories by:
Shahar Pinkas
Written by:
In Kaminka, a small town in White Russia, a man whose wife died is searching for a wet nurse for his baby girl. A junior clerk strives for promotion; the town’s barren woman desperately tries to get herself a child. A young man, sick with tuberculosis, struggles for
No One Dies in Vain 19
Photograph: Gerard Alon
International Exposure for Israeli Theatre and Isra-Drama
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Photograph: Gadi Dagon
This is the Land – The Zionist Creation Rejects’
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Contact: Eyal Weiser
Mobile: +972-54-7003333
Email: Eyalweiser@gmail.com Website: www.eyalweiser.com
Salon – Plan B provides limitless artistic
Tmu-na Theatre
2:00 pm
November 21
Thursday,
THEATRE CREATORS IN ISRAEL
EVE – THE ASSOCIATION OF INDEPENDENT
EYAL WEISER,
Created by
space to rethink and re examine the concept of Zionism
BEST STAGE LANGUAGE
GOLDEN HEDGEHOG AWARD 2013
“Funny, poignant, satirical, and challenging, just like theatre ought to be!” Time Out editorial – Best Cultural Events of 2013
“This work reaffirms Weiser’s status as one of the more sophisticated, interesting dramatists of the past decade.” Yedioth Ahronoth
A scripted, fictitious, directed ‘festival’ that seeks to pose a response to the Zionist Creation Award initiated by the minister of culture in October 2011, and to provide limitless artistic space to rethink and re-examine the concept of Zionism. All the performers in this festival were either turned down by the ministry’s committee or chose to boycott the award, claiming that the concept of Zionism is so consumed with political elements that it should not function as a legitimate artistic criterion.
This is the Land – The Zionist Creation Rejects’ Salon – Plan B 21
International Exposure for Israeli Theatre and Isra-Drama
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Ding Dong: First
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Contact: Hili Fridberg
Phone: +972-3-5372096 Mobile: +972-54-2195580
Email: miklat@zahav.net.il Website: www.miklat209.org.il
Ensemble 209
A unique, deceptive world unfolds before the audience’s eyes: at times it appears to be a realistic representation of the rural world portrayed in Federico Garcia Lorca’s The House of Bernarda Alba, while at others it is an actual, exposed realtime occurrence that
has nothing to do with theatrical illusion. Daily activities culled from the fictional world of the play are translated into performance-art’s language of action, turning into meticulously and repetitively performed gestures and rituals that are often absurd and irrational.
“Meticulously and repetitively performed gestures and rituals”
Act Thursday November 21 4:00 pm
TAMAR RABAN
Directed & edited by:
Photograph: Benny Kori
Ding Dong: First Act 23
International Exposure for Israeli Theatre and Isra-Drama
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Life Life Life & & & Strive Strive Striv
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Contact: Anat Eisenberg
Phone: +972-4-6514289 Mobile: +972-523-397844
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Email: anat.eisenberg@gmail.com Website: anateisenberg.info
Cinema Hotel
Friday November 22 9:30 am
A One-Time-Only RealEstate Adventure Inside A Luxury Apartment Project
By advance booking only
Anat Eisenberg investigates the current trends in global luxury housing, which are based on the creation of self-contained, separate communities with carefully constructed identities. The audience is invited to a real-estate adventure inside Tel Aviv’s most exclusive housing project.
Photograph: Alex Gerbaulet
How do we fulfill our desires, constantly replace them with new ones, and ultimately fail to achieve them?
ANAT EISENBERG
MIRKO WINKEL &
Concept:
ANAT EISENBERG
Directed by:
Life & Strive 25
Contact: Saar SzÊkely
Mobile: 972-52-7493066
The Complete Shows 9
The Lottery is based on The Lottery in Babylon, a short story by J. L. Borges.
International Exposure for Israeli Theatre and Isra-Drama
A new species of social structure, where personal identity is constantly being rebuilt, and the meanings of authority, responsibility, and free will are put into question.
A performance with no performers and no director. Run by a computer, it is a new species of social structure, where personal identity is constantly being rebuilt, and the meanings of authority, responsibility, and free will are put into question. In The Lottery everyone is a participant, and constantly gets discreet, private orders randomly chosen by a computer. The orders secretly regulate the actions, interactions, and hierarchy in the ad hoc community, and pose different challenges for the participants.
L o t t e r y E x p e r i m e n t
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Email: saar.szekely@gmail.com Website: http://lottery-project.org
7: 0 0 pm 7: 0 0 pm 7: 0 0 pm 7: 0 0 pm 7: 0 0 pm 7: 0 0 pm 7: 0 0 pm
F r i d ay, Nove mb e r 22 ,
F r i d ay, Nove mb e r 22 ,
F r i d ay, Nove mb e r 22 ,
F r i d ay, Nove mb e r 22 ,
F r i d ay, Nove mb e r 22 ,
F r i d ay, Nove mb e r 22 ,
F r i d ay, Nove mb e r 22 ,
Created By * Saar SzĂŠkely * Keren Sheffi
Lottery Experiment
Taurus 9, Jaffa
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International Exposure for Israeli Theatre and Isra-Drama
Contact: Nili Perelmuter
Phone: +972-2-5336257 Mobile: +972-52-5623581
Created by The Zik Group
Mysterium
Mysterium Cosmographicum is a performance revolving around the main motif of celestial bodies. The name and theme were inspired by Johannes Kepler’s article “Mysteries of the Universe”, the subject of which is the mathematical and astrological meanings of the planetary orbits. The performance brings into being metaphors of the vicissitude, movement, and acceleration of cosmic creation. It combines video and original music, and makes use of various substances, including glass, fire, soot, wax, light, and mud. At the end of the performed act the audience can view the result as a gallery exhibit. Mysterium Cosmographicum is about the third dimension, mathematical relations, the relations between time and space, and the aesthetic meanings of physical and spatial phenomena.
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Email: zikgroup@gmail.com
Zik Group Studio – Beit Nekofa
Members of The Zik Group: Yuval Rimon, Eli Elishar, Rony Kugel, Sharon Ben Adam, Oded Rimon, and Ofeq Shemer
Cosmographicum
The name and theme were inspired by Johannes Kepler’s article “Mysteries of the Universe”
4:00 pm
November 23
Thursday
Mysterium Cosmographicum 29
Photograph: Zik Group
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International Exposure for Israeli Theatre and Isra-Drama
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Sunday November 24 11:00 am
Exit
Photograph: Gadi Dagon
Contact: Erez Hasson
Written by
EUGÈNE IONESCO Directed by
RINA YERUSHALMI
Phone: +972-3-6061936 Mobile: +972-54-4359533
Email: itime@zahav.net.il Website: www.itim-theatre.com
Itim Ensemble
“…Doron Tavori gives, as always, a precise, meticulous performance... Such moments are what make life worth living.” Haaretz
King Beranger is informed that he is dying, and the kingdom is likewise crumbling around him. Through much of the play The King is in denial of his impending death, and refuses to relinquish power. Gradually, step by step, he accepts that he is going to die. The characters disappear one by one, leaving the king alone with Marguerite who prepares him for the final journey, the end.
The King “…A superb ensemble both on stage and off. ” Time Out Best Play Best Director Best Lighting Designer
Golden Hedgehog Award 2013
Exit The King 31
Contact: Maya Faragi
GADI ROLL
Directed by:
EURIPIDES
Written by:
“…This production certainly proves the Greek tragedy conflict to be relevant…” Achbar Ha’ir
International Exposure for Israeli Theatre and Isra-Drama
Phone: +972-8-6266483 Mobile: +972-54-8303806
Iphigenia
The absurd distortion of nationalism, with Iphigenia choosing to become a shahida and sacrifice herself for her country
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Email: mayab7t@br7.org.il Website: www.b7t.co.il
Beer-Sheva Theatre
Sunday November 24 5:00 pm Produced in Israel – which has been immersed in military conflict since its establishment, and is currently experiencing increasing activity of rightwing fundamentalists – Iphigenia at Aulis deals with the atrocities of war on the most personal level, and the absurd distortion of nationalism, with Iphigenia
Photograph: Gadi Dagon
The action takes place in a digital world where the height of human aspiration is to become a celebrity, and focuses on the state of man, or rather the mutation of the human form in the present circumstances of his existence.
choosing to become a shahida and sacrifice herself for her country.
@Aulis Iphigenia at Aulis 33
International Exposure for Israeli Theatre and Isra-Drama
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What
Man,
Now?
Photograph: Daniel Kaminski
Little
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Contact: Dr. Varda Fish
Phone: +972-3-6061979 Mobile: +972-52-4521966
Email: varda@cameri.co.il Website: www.cameri.co.il
The Cameri Theatre of Tel-Aviv
8:30 pm
November 24
Sunday
A world that assails the little man trying to survive without relinquishing a spark of optimism Berlin in the 1920s and 30s. Germany is in a grave economic crisis, stricken by unemployment, and loses its identity. Two young lovers believe that by virtue of their pure and perfect love they will be able to surmount all the obstacles in a cruel, tough, and unjust world, without losing their human semblance. A world that assails the little man trying to survive without relinquishing a spark of optimism.
ITAY TIRAN
Directed by
ITAY TIRAN AND DORI PARNES
Adapted by
HANS FALLADA
Based on the novel "Alone in Berlin" by
Little Man, What Now? 35
SPEC IAL E V E NTS:
Photograph: Yair Meyuhas, from:The Opposite of Alive
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Special Events
TUESDAY, 19.11.13, 18:00
A VI S I T T O T W O L EADING LO C A L I N T E RD I S CI P L I N ARY AND EX PE RI M E N TA L A RT VE NUE S I N T E L AV I V
Hanut 31 - Theater & Gallery is located in a standard downtown store on a major shopping street, and houses artistic activity for theatre, dance, music, and the plastic arts. Hanut 31 has been active since 2010, offering over 180 shows a year, as well as running a fully active storefront gallery. Both performances and gallery shows maintain a continuous dialogue with the street activity, influenced by the complex rundown downtown area where Hanut 31 is situated.
The Zimmer Studio offers over 320 performances and gallery shows a year, and houses experimental artists of all mediums: music, dance, poetry, video, plastic arts, multimedia, and every possible combination between them. Each year The Zimmer invites foreign artists for joint artistic ventures with local artists, collaborating with various foreign cultural institutions, such as BIArts, the Goethe Institute, Heinrich Bell, and Pro-Helvetia. The visit will be guided by Roy Fabian who conducts research on various urban issues, including culture and art, architecture and urban planning.
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International Exposure for Israeli Theatre and Isra-Drama
THURSDAY, 21.11.13, 9:30, TMU-NA THEATRE
S YM P O S I U M O N I S RA E L I D RAMA
This year’s Symposium on Israeli Drama seeks to shed light on the many faces of the Israeli playwright, onto the subjects preoccupying him, and the patterns he researches. In recent years, Israeli writing for the theater has taken on various forms, from texts with traditional dramatic structures such as Yosef Bar-Yosef’s The Orchard, which is characterized by emphasis on intertextuality, and Sara von Schwarze’s Between Two Worlds, a moving bilingual play based on the playwright’s personal life, to clearly non-dramatic texts in which there is no allocation of speeches to the characters, but an associative continuum of words, as in Nitzan Cohen’s Private Collection, sentences constructed from a collection of exchanges between people, so that the meaning and type of communication remain hanging in the air, waiting for
the next word, the next speaker. Interest in the structure, in the form of the language, and particularly in its poetic qualities within Israeli culture, is in fact the leading protagonist in Yaron Edelstein’s Mountain, co-written with Dalit Milstein, artistic director of Notzar Theater. The young playwright, Inna Eizenberg, whose first play, My Book of Faces, won a best show award at this year’s Akko Fringe Festival, plays with virtuosity with characters leading parallel lives in reality and in the virtual world, and creates a special atmosphere between actions taking place in the present and messages on Facebook. Journalists Marat Parchomovsky, Yuval Meskin, Hila Aharon-Barik, and Shai Bar-Yaakov will be whetting their wits with the playwrights.
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Special Events
Photograph: Luciana Kaplun
Together with the playwrights we will meet young creators who are not afraid to expose their innards, and showcase the topics burning inside them at any price and in a surprising format. From the excruciatingly funny compères, Girls in Arms, First Sergeant Jenny Abergil and Corporal Jana (Anat), Nadav Bossem and Adily Lieberman, who do not stop fighting and will take us on a tour in the footsteps of the creators, to Aya, Samira, and Dor, an interdisciplinary group with Open Heart Operation, which proves that if one wills it, IsraeliArab collaboration is no fairy tale, to Natali Cohen Vaxberg, who does not fear threats to her life, and Yoni Eilat, the Yiddishpiel Theater’s young director, with a surprising piece on the Ashkenazi national dish – gefilte fish.
Girls in Arms Contact:Adily Liberman Email: adily26@yahoo.com How would you manage without the Holocaust? The Ceremony Contact: Natali Cohen Vaxberg Email: natalic83@gmail.com Open Heart Operation Contact: Aya Shwed Email: asitis.productions@gmail.com Monologues from the Kishke - Yiddishpiel Contact: Niva Mitelman Email: niva@yiddishpiel.co.il The Institute of Israeli Drama Contact: Shimrit Ron Email: shimrit@cameri.co.il
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International Exposure for Israeli Theatre and Isra-Drama
FRIDAY, 22.11.13, 12:00, ARAB-HEBREW THEATRE, JAFFA
S YM P O S I U M: BE T W E E N T H E AT R E , PO L I T I CS A N D S O CIE T Y
Since its establishment, the State of Israel has been in the eye of the global political storm. Over the generations Israeli theatre has striven, at times more and at others less, to reflect the political and social milieu in the country. Notable theatre creators have endeavored to reflect underlying trends they considered dangerous, such as militarism, religious extremism, racism, conformism, and nationalism. Israeli society is typified by multiple conflicts: the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Ashkenazis vs. Mizrahis, religious vs. secular, rich vs. poor, and citizens vs. migrants are just a few on a long list. In this year’s symposium we will focus on the changes taking place in the world of theatre; to try and map the picture, and share knowledge in essentially
interwoven areas that create an inseparable fabric: the politics of theatre, political theatre, and contemporary creativity. We shall share case studies, and raise questions about the different human power systems (overt and covert) involved in the act of creativity, and endeavor to describe the political and social relevance of theatre in the second decade of the twenty-first century. The symposium will reflect on what has happened in the course of this decade through sharing historical stage battle stories. We will examine different strategies for contending, the aspiration for political and artistic change, the urge for renewal, and the attitude toward the state, both consensual and critical.
41 Special Events
Photograph: Haolam Hazeh no. 1703, 24.4.1970 Courtesy of the Omer Kriger Collection
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International Exposure for Israeli Theatre and Isra-Drama
THURSDAY, 21.11.13, 19:30, THE CAMERI THEATRE OF TEL AVIV
A N E V E N I N G I N H ONOR OF HA NO C H L E V I N ( 194 3 -1 9 9 9 )
Lost Battle: Mini-symposium by Professor Nurit Yaari Hanoch Levin wrote more than 60 plays, and published books of poetry and prose. He wrote in varied dramatic styles (political satires, comedies, tragicomedies, mythological plays, and tragedies), and directed only his own work. His plays are performed in many theatres in Israel and all over the world.
Contact: Dr. Varda Fish Email: varda@cameri.co.il Phone: +972-3-6061979 Mobile: +972-52-4521966
Requiem Written and directed by Hanoch Levin Based on three stories by Anton Chekhov A fairy tale about death. Somewhere in a village in a far-off region of a big country, lived two old people, husband and wife. They fall sick and die, regretting the life they had lived. A young mother carrying her dying baby wanders in search of a cure for him; a wagon driver who has lost his son transports drunks and whores, and has no one to pour out his heart to; the drunks and whores are in pursuit of happiness; cherubs passing through gather up the souls of the dead. Requiem was the last play directed by Hanoch Levin. “A majestic tapestry of poetry brought to life on stage.� The Guardian
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Special Events
The Hanoch Levin Institute of Israeli Drama (Npo) The Hanoch Levin Institute of Israeli Drama was founded in 2000 by Noam Semel, Director General of the Cameri Theatre of Tel Aviv. Semel founded the Institute after the demise of Hanoch Levin – playwright, author, poet and director – an outstanding artist, whose oeuvre stands as one of the basic foundations of Israeli cultural history. The Institute has set as its goal to promote Israeli drama and raise awareness of its crucial role in the formation of Israeli culture, both in Israel and abroad.
Photograph: Gadi Dagon
The aim of the Institute’s Translation of Contemporary Israeli Drama Enterprise is to expose Israeli drama and encourage its staging in theatres throughout the world. Contact: Shimrit Ron Email: shimrit@cameri.co.il Phone: +972-3-6951188
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International Exposure for Israeli Theatre and Isra-Drama
SATURDAY, 23.11.13, 10:00, MAZYA THEATRE, JERUSALEM
B EY ON D W O RD S : A COLLE CT ION O F S E L E CT E D S CE NE S
Photograph: Maayan Kaufman
The City – Hip Hop Opera Written and created by Amit Ulman, Omer Havron, and Omer Mor – members of The Victor Jackson Show; The Incubator Theatre A rap opera written entirely in rhyme and performed as a single continuous song, combining rap, hip hop, and spoken words with theatrical and poetic texts. The plot focuses on the character of Joe, a cynical and bitter detective working in a corrupt, decaying city.
“Joins a short list of comedy masterpieces… 5 stars.” Time Out “…done so well that it becomes art in and of itself…” Haaretz “The best, most brilliant, inspiring show in the history of Israeli rap…” Hakatzeh Radio
Contact: Arik Eshet Email: arikeshet@hotmail.com Phone: +972-26543002 Mobile: +972-545872229 Incubator Theater
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Special Events
Losing Its Meaning
Fairy Tale
Visual theatre by Emanuella Amichai
A tale for two actresses and a mouse. Written and directed by Sigalit Fuchs and Yehudit Ginger
A visual theatre work about the refined and confined, the rejuvenated and the deteriorated, the glorified and crucified human body. A unique blend of professional actors and dancers and other professionals who have taken their bodies to the extreme.
This is the story of Tina, a woman who’s got nothing to lose – but hasn’t stopped looking. A fairy tale in three acts that introduces us to the forest, the darkness, hope, and the coughing Tina.
Contact: Emanuella Amichai Email: thevisualtheatre@gmail.com Phone: +972-546484734 Mobile: +972-546484734
“Fuchs and Ginger celebrate their freedom…” Haaretz “An exceptional show full of imagination that allows itself to fly free and high, and brings the joy of creation back to the stage…” Ynet
Walking Away
Contact: Maayan Mozes Email: maayanmozess@gmail.com Mobile: +972-504878797
Created by Nava Frenkel and Nevo Romano A piece about the language of the body as it comes into contact with itself and with the ‘other’. Actor-dancer Nevo Romano searches for the possibility of staying ‘in touch’, despite his future departure. Contact: Nava Frenkel Email: navafrenkel@gmail.com Mobile: +972-526299095
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International Exposure for Israeli Theatre and Isra-Drama
SATURDAY, 23.11.13, 19:00, NATURE MUSEUM, JERUSALEM
TH E O P P O S I T E O F ALIVE A N D GU E S T S
The artistic happening, spiced with "food for thought", in the Nature Museum complex will feature the following parallel events: The Nature Museum resides in the Villa Decan, an ancient stone house built by a wealthy Armenian merchant outside the city walls in the 19th century. In the early twentieth century the residence was transferred into the ownership of the Ottoman rule, and served as the Turkish governor’s residence.
The Opposite of Alive An Alternative Tour for One Person at a Time created by Michal Vaaknin and Ilanit Ben Yaacov, Hazira Performing Arts Arena A personal nighttime tour for one, accompanied by the voice of a guide speaking directly into the visitor’s ear. Alone with a flashlight, you are challenged to test the boundaries between life and death, between the extant, the visible, and the hidden, between the leopard and the human being. Contact: Guy Biran Email: direct@hazira.org.il Phone: +972-26783378 Mobile: +972-546999255
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Special Events
Created by: Zvi Sahar In a desolate interplanetary fantasy world in deep space, a lost robot cosmonaut encounters the natives: creatures who are all good and all cute. And all hungry. A theatrical intimacy with miniature puppets, and a cinematic grandeur worthy of an epic space odyssey. “...inventive, nutty and wonder-inspiring production.” The Washington Post “A genius art form,” MD Theatre Guide Contact: Zvi Sahar Email: ZviSahar@PuppetCinema.com Phone: +972-523527627 Mobile: +972-543043483
Photograph: Sharon Gabay
Photograph: PuppetCinema
Planet Egg, Puppet Cinema
Pandora Collective Pandora Project’s group piece reflects the creative process of object theatre. The participants use objects to map an area, memory, road, feeling, or anything worthy of recording on the map of Jerusalem. The members of Pandora: Ari Teperberg, Moran Aviv, Li Lorian, Ruth Hof, Anat Arbel, Aharon Manor, Inbal Dekel, Ariel Doron, Hila Spector, Polly Geltser, Sharon Gabay, Ana Wild, and Jacqueline Pearl. Contact: Li Lorian Email: pandora.puppetry@gmail.com Mobile: +972-543043483
I NTE R N AT IONAL EXP OS U R E FOR IS R A ELI THEAT R E A ND I S RA-DRAMA 2 013
Artistic Director: Lilach Dekel-Avneri Artistic Committee (in alphabetical order): Zachi Becker, Deputy CEO of Tel Aviv Museum of Art, and former Director General of Beit Lessin Theatre; Dr. Bilha Blum, theatre researcher, Chair of the National Culture Basket Theatre Repertoire Committee, and member of the National Council for Culture and the Arts Fringe Division; Dr. Orna Deutch, member of the National Council for Culture and the Arts Theatre Division, and lecturer at the Faculty of Law, Bar-Ilan University; Itzik Giuli, actor, playwright, director, dramaturge, and Director of Search Engine; Dr. Yaniv Goldberg, law, literature, and theatre researcher at Bar-Ilan University; Dr. Dror Harari, researcher and lecturer at Tel Aviv University; Omer Krieger, artist and artistic director of Under the Mountain, part of the Jerusalem Culture Season; Prof. Shimon Levi, researcher, director, translator, editor, one of the leaders and a former director of the Acco Festival for Alternative Israeli Theatre, and former head of the Tel Aviv University Department of Theatre Arts; Moshe Perlstein, director, translator, and doctoral student at Tel Aviv University, and theatre lecturer at Kibbutzim College of Education; Doron Zafrir, lawyer, actor, director, and Chair of the Kipod Zahav (Golden Hedgehog) Fringe Theatre Awards Selection Committee; Riki Zeevi, member of the National Council for Culture and the Arts Theatre Division. Director of the Hanoch Levin Institute of Israeli Drama: Shimrit Ron Producer: Galit Barsky Production Assistant and Guest Escort: Natalie Zuckerman Public Relations: Amalia Eyal and Elinor Glickman Program Design and Production: Avihai Mizrahi and Adam Sessler English Translation: Margalit Rodgers Acknowledgements: Ministry of Culture and Sport, Theatre and Fringe Theatre Divisions, and the Culture, Administration: Irit Fogel; Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Raphael Gamzou, Deputy Director General, Head of the Division for Cultural and Scientific Affairs; Ofra Ben Yaacov, Head of Arts Department, The Division for for Cultural and Scientific Affairs; Rachel Nir, Head of Performing Arts, The Division for for Cultural and Scientific Affairs; Municipality of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Culture Division: Iris Mor; The Marc Rich Foundation for Education, Culture and Walfare; The Hanoch Levin Institute of Israeli Drama; Nature Museum, Jerusalem; Beit Mazia for Theatre, Jerusalem; Tmu-na Theatre; The Arab-Hebrew Theatre in Jaffa; and Mazeh 9. And special thanks to former directors of International Exposure/Isra-Drama for their input and support for this year’s event: Prof. Gad Kaynar, Prof. Nurit Yaari, Sigal Cohen, and Gal Canetti.
My last friend is dead – the magic lantern of my dim brain. Ah, here's the pain for all I spent, and here's the pain for all I didn't spend. Pain and regret everywhere. No, this isn't the pain of regret, It's real… the end… who's waiting for me?... The post office clerk… 1.20. What a waste. A man lives and dies, and the whores in Ohio don't even know. From The Whore from Ohio by Hanoch Levin (1997), translated from Hebrew by Sondra Silverston
State of Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs