Fringe theatre will take center stage May 1 – 6, with six nights of original productions, culminating in the Kipod (Hedgehog) Awards Ceremony which will take place on May 7, at Tmuna Theatre in Tel Aviv. Theatre groups and independent artists, working outside the mainstream culture create a thriving alternative, vibrant and often provocative cultural scene in Israel. The Fringe Night festival, with a variety of new productions, hosted by fringe venues with tickets at 30 NIS, invites audiences to explore a different kind of theatre.
Fringe Night Events:
Saturday, May 1
20:30, Tzavta, 30 Ibn Gvirol St. Tel Aviv, 03-6950156/7
The Lesson (1951) by Eugene Ionesco, directed by Yair Sherman
A professor, his pupil, and the maid – a recipe for absurdity, mayhem and …
Sunday, May 2
20:30, Theatronka’le, 28 Marmorek, Tel Aviv, 03-6868270 (a new venue!)
Herpot veGidufim (Shame and Curses), by Emily Nothomb, translated by Yehoshua Kenaz. Negev Theatre production adapted and directed by Issi Mamanov, and performed by Miguel Orbach. Emil, the typical anti-hero, retires and moves to his dream house in the forest with his beloved wife Juliet. Their peaceful existence is threatened by the neighbor, who sits in their parlor every day from four to six, without speaking. In trying to release himself from this burden, Emil is forced to re-examine his own identity.
20:30, Karov Theatre, Central Bus Station –street level, 116 Levinsky, 03-6885004
She – a journey through rooms of artists – Berlin, London, Israel. Concept and environment: Dorit Nitai Neeman, Tali Shaked Zagman. A Karov Theatre production directed by Dorit Nitai Neeman and created with performers. Israel: Dorit Nitai Neeman (with Yaakov Hefetz), Sara Sibony, Pazit Yaron MInkovsky, Ayelet Ron. Berlin: Meredith Nadler. London: Elska Christopher Daniels. A meeting between theatre artists from different countries who work in different media that invites the audience on an intimate journey that looks into the inner world of the artists as they document themselves and their surroundings.
20:30, Arab-Hebrew Theatre, 10 Mifratz Shlomo St., Old Jaffa, 03-5185563
Abu Ubu in the Meat Market, by Alfred Jarry. Al Hakawati Theatre, Jerusalem production adapted and directed by François Abou Salem. Performers: François Abou Salem, Nisrin Fawar, Adham Noaman. A tale of power struggles in which the younger is always the weaker, more easily dominated, tortured, crushed.
21:00 Hasimta Theatre, 3 Mazal Dagim, Old Jaffa, 03-6812626
Homecoming by Harold Pinter, translated by Avraham Oz. A Negev Theatre production directed by Issi Mamanov. Performers: Shmuel Shiloh, Oren Yadger, Yossi Carmon, David Golan, Elhi Levit, Shira Ferber. An innocent family scene, a son’s return home, exposes the violent relationships within the family.
Monday, May 3
20:30, Bimat Meitzag, Central Bus Station, 116 Levinsky St. Tel Aviv, 03-5372096
Ensemble 209 presents Remix, based on The House of Bernarda Alba by Federico Garcia Lorca. Directed and designed by Guy Gutman, with artistic direction by Tamar Raban. Ensemble 209 is a theatre group of creative multimedia performers, including: Vered Arni, Gina Ben-David, Haya Barshinsky Seglis, Kinneret Max, Tami Lebovitz, Yana Friedman and Tamar Kristisyashvilli. This performance is the second in a trilogy that explores the relationship between classic drama and contemporary Israel.
20:30, Theatronka’le, 28 Marmorek St, Tel Aviv, 03-6868270
Levada (Alone), a monodrama by Moshe Malca and Tehila Ishayahu-Adega. A Holgub Theatre production directed by Moshe Malca and performed by Tehila Ishayahu-Adega. An Ethiopian woman tries to find love on the internet, while reflecting on the absurd, amusing and sad aspects of her life.
Tuesday, May 4
20:30, Arab-Hebrew Theatre, 10 Mifratz Shlomo St., Old Jaffa, 03-5185563
Enemy to Lover, S. Y. Agnon’s story as physical theatre adapted and directed by Galit Shani, with choreography by Ronit Ziv, a co-production of the Arab-Hebrew Theatre, Mekomi (Local) Theatre and Mirror Theatre – Kiryat Shmona. Performers: Yehuda Lazerovitch, Eyal Salema, Gyula Csakvari, Gavril Goler and Shmuel Wolf. A conflict between two heroes – man and wind, that ends in friendship. A man returns time and again to the same plot at the top of a hill, trying to build his house despite the wind.
Wednesday, May 5
20:30 Hasimta Theatre, 3 Mazal Dagim, Old Jaffa, 03-6812126
The Island by Athol Fugard, translated by Anton Shamas and directed by Alon Tiran. Performers: Yoav Donat, Yossi Zabri. The story of two political prisoners, bound together against their will in a single cell, who must seek creative ways to deal with the deadly routine and the head guard. The play is based on the lives of black prisoners during apartheid in a prison on Robin Island.
Thursday, May 6
20:30, Tmuna Theatre, 8 Soncino Street, Tel Aviv, 03-5611211
Zipor lo Teda (No Bird Shall Know), a comedy inspired by Scholem Aleichem, written and directed by Ori Egoz. Performers: Sveta Falk, Hila Friedman, Betty Koshchy. Three Jewish women, in Europe of 1911, one young and the two others not quite so young, make their way to the picturesque resort of Marienbad. Their meeting results in a comedy of errors, and secrets revealed.
Friday, May 7
11:30 Kipod Awards Ceremony, Tmuna Theatre
Tickets to the plays may be purchased through the venues listed above.
Additional information is available on the websites: Hasimta and Tzavta.
