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38
FRIDAY, SEPT. 4, 1987
English-Speaking Theater
Takes The Stage In Israel
Special to The Jewish News
he sound of applause
fades as the curtain
lowers upon the stage.
The actors slide back easily
into their daily roles: lawyer,
student, father, wife. They
mingle with the people in the
audience who are in a festive
mood. It's strictly community
theater, relaxed and informal,
yet there is one slight varia-
tion. In this Hebrew-speaking
country, the play just per-
formed was in English.
It appears that English-
speaking theater in Israel
just may be shedding its
understudy role. Although far
from the level of Hebrew
theater in popularity and
stature, small grass roots ac-
ting companies have been
growing throughout the coun-
try, mounting ambitious pro-
jects that range from a full-
scale orchestrated Gilbert
and Sullivan. operetta to a
two-woman performance bas-
ed on ancient Jewish liturgy.
At present, most all major
cities in Israel can claim at
least one active drama group,
with Jerusalem, given its
high number of native
English speakers, currently
supporting four production
troupes that perform
throughout the year.
According to Gidon Redov,
director of "Miley," a network
that coordinates all amateur
drama groups throughout the
country, "every year sees
another request to form a new
company or two. I assume
that means people are hungry
to come and perform in them.
The standard seems quite
high, given the fine reception
that Tel Aviv's Drama Circle
had last year in their produc-
tion of Rose, Israel's entry in
the Amateur Theater Festival
in Edinburgh."
Only a few decades ago,
English-language theater
was all but abandoned by the
public. According to Israeli-
American actress Zipora Pel-
ed, "We were definitely the
stepchild nobody wanted. Peo-
ple were building a Hebrew-
speaking country and were
naturally quite determined
about keeping it that way. An
occasional group would form
and put on an English play,
much to everyone's disap-
proval. Oh, the people and
critics enjoyed themselves,
but they'd always say: 'but
why do we need it?' "
The times in Israel have
mellowed since then, given
the influx of people from the
various English-speaking
countries and the pervasive
effects of modern media.
English has now established
itself comfortably as a second
language for many within
contemporary society and,
says Peled, the new im-
migrants have made theater
viable again. These are peo-
ple with a solid background
in acting and drama. That
makes for quality
productions.
"We're like an absorption
center on stage," says one
member when describing the
diversity of backgrounds
within her group, where a
A well attuned ear
can detect a range
of dialects from
Irish brogue to
Brooklynese.
well attuned ear can detect a
range of dialects from Irish
brogue to Brooklynese.
In order to thrive in Israel,
however, English theater
needs to provide more than
an opportunity to wax
nostalgic for a favorite
classical drama or to provide
the backdrop for a festive
social evening. Gabriella Lev,
an Australian-born actress
and founder of the Jerusalem
Theater Company, believes
that English theater can on-
ly serve a specific purpose in
a society - rooted in the
Hebrew language.
"Theater expresses the
basic social and historical ex-
periences of a culture. By
definition, theater, as a
significant movement within
Israel, can only occur in
Hebrew. That isn't to say,
however, that English produc-
tions can't be interesting, im-
aginative or of a high caliber."
One means by which both
Lev and Peled have bridged
the cultural and linguistic
distances is through the
translation of works — both
very old and very modern —
that make them accessible to
English audiences.
An award-winning Hebrew
play, Bruria, which has been
appearing throughout the
country in English for the
past three years, is set in the
period after the Bar Kochba
revolt against the Romans
and details the story of the
wife of a Rabbi Meri, a reb-
bitzen of strength and in-
dependence. Lev, along with
several women, including her
sister, Ruth Wieder, with
whom she performs, conceiv-
ed and developed a play that
is directly translated from
one of Israel's religious and
historical sources. The work,
at times demanding of both
actress and audience, quotes
directly from the Talmud.
This, according to Lev, is the
first time such an attempt
has been made at putting the
ancient texts into such a
theatrical form.
Peled, founder of the
Jerusalem Stage theater
group, is currently producing
and directing two plays in the
capital and appearing in one
of them. "People are curious
about life in Israel," she
remarks. "Translating and
performing Israeli plays will
hopefully give visitors and
non-Hebrew speakers an in-
sight into Israeli society!'
Peled acts in and directs
Roommates in Jerusalem, a
play that deals with one of
the more serious problems of
contemporary life in Israel —
Jewish-Arab coexistence.
`Roommates' tells the story of
the complications that result
when Yosuf, an Arab medical
student in Jerusalem, is forc-
ed to conceal his identity
when renting an apartment
in the city. A controversial
play, Peled hopes that theater,
a medium capable of focusing
closely on human relation-
ships, "will help people relate
better to the complexities in-
volved in Israeli life!'
Probably the most am-
bitious project of them all,
however, is happening in the
Negev desert. "When the
group first got together we
didn't have any grandiose
ideas," remarks Ed Spitz, one
of the founders of the Light
Opera of the Negev. "We
thought we would just put on
one production and that
would be it!'
That was in 1981 and since
then the Beersheba group of
over 70 strong, has performed
five Gilbert and Sullivan
operettas, accompanied at
first by piano only and now
with full orchestra.
With most English theater
groups operating on the pro-
verbial shoestring budget and
given the voluntary nature of
the enterprise, the future suc-
cess of English theater seems
dependent upon a combina-
tion of grassroots enthusiasm
and creative inspiration —
something which both Peled
and Lev are confident exist in
plenty.
World Zionist Press Service