A ten day celebration of culture, the Herzliya Biennial will take place from October 10 – 20, 2011 with the main art exhibition Second Strike accompanied by theatre, film and music events in several venues throughout the city.
The Herzliya Cinematheque will feature a special program relating to the themes of the biennial, introduced by the curator of Second Strike, Ory Dessau. Dessau will speak at the cinematheque on October 11 at 19:00, followed by a screening of video art by Keren Cytter. A second talk by Dessau will take place on October 18th at 19:30, introducing Alain Resnais’ Je t’aime Je t’aime (1968). The Herzliya Cinematheque is located in the passageway connecting 29 Sokolov St. and 7 Harishonim St., Herzliya. Additional information: www.Hcinema.org.il; 09-9565008.
Over 100 musicians will participate in the biennial, with free performances nightly from 18:30 – 22:30 with an acoustic stage in the Lev Ha’ir passage, a classical stage outside the Herzliya Ensemble Theatre, a jazz stage outside Dr. Lek, and more music outside the Herzliya Cinematheque, Sderot Chen and outside the Igud Bank. Performers will include: The Reines Girls, The Raw Men Empire, Umlala; Amit Erez; Adam Ben Amitay; Marionetta Sol; and Taani Ester among many more.
The Herzliya Ensemble Theatre will host four programs:
Identity of the Soul, a multi-lingual film based on the poem “Vigen Terte” by Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen and “A Soldier Dreams of White Lilies” by Mahmoud Darwish. The film makes use of symbolic imagery, music and movement as an accompaniment to the text. There are six versions of the film, each narrated in a different language by well known performers: Vanessa Redgrave – English; Mahmoud Darwish – Arabic; Jean Rochefort – French; Irrfan Khan – Urdu; Jan Wiig – Norwegian; Anne Grete Preus – Norwegian; Gila Almagor – Hebrew. The original soundtrack was composed by Paul Noble and Dan Berridge. The Hebrew version of the film will be shown: October 10 & 11 at 18:00, 20:00, 22:00; October 12 at 11:00; October 13 at 20:00, 22:00.
The Holy Coaster s(HIT) Circus – a co-production of Machol Shalem Dance House the Peng! Palast theatre in Bern. Created by Ruby Edelman, Sascha Engel and Peng! Palast, the work explores relationships and tensions in the encounter between the two groups, the two cultures, through research that is translated into a circus-like satiric performance onstage, using acting, martial arts and improvisation. The performance at the Herzliya Ensemble will take place on October 20, 2011 at 20:30. This performance is part of the Culturescapes Swiss Season.
When You’re Dead You’re Done – a co-production of Hazira Performance Art Arena with Culturescapes. A theatrical dance work exploring the connection between hedonism and fear, how different fears lead to different forms of hedonistic behaviour. Tabea Martin (choreographer – Basel), Tchelet Weisstub (visual theatre maker – Jerusalem), Itamar Mendesflor (visul artist – Jerusalem) and Matthias Mooij (theatre director – Amsterdam). The performance at the Herzliya Ensemble will take place on October 22, 2011 at 20:30. This performance is part of the Culturescapes Swiss Season.
Both Upon a Time – A theatre project founded on folktales, created by Ofira Henig. A co-production of the Herzliya Theater Ensemble and Haifa Theater, the work explores myths originating in folktales that prevail in modern society as well. The project focuses on Israeli-Arab society and its diverse, multi-cultural narratives. The performance is in Hebrew, combined with Arabic texts with subtitles. Participating also in the Culturescapes program in Switzerland, following the performances in the Herzliya Biennial, the play will premiere at the Haifa Theatre. Performances at the Herzliya Ensemble: October 16, 17 & 18 at 20:30.
Herzliya Ensemble Theatre, Beit HaEzrach, 5 Ben Gurion Street, Herzliya, 09 – 9552921.
