Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
dealt with the intifada. Yet apart from a few notable exceptions like this, the theater of the 1990s
became less political. Plays that dealt with the individual, the personal quality of life, and self-
fulfi llment replaced political works. The general tendency was toward entertainment, though
not necessarily through comedies and musicals. This tendency made stand-up performances,
a new genre of theater, very popular. Stand-up became an acceptable form of entertainment
for young people and took the place of the satire, which nearly disappeared. Young stand-up
artists usually avoided direct political statements about the situation in Israel and preferred to
deal with personal situations, taken from their daily lives.
In recent years, Israeli theater has notably combined the old with the new and local iden-
tities with imports from abroad. By the 2000s, about half the plays produced were original
Hebrew works. Each year, more theater classes are offered in Israeli high schools, more theater
teachers are trained, and acting schools reject growing numbers of theater aspirants.
There are six government-subsidized public theaters, HaBima, the Cameri, and Beit Les-
sin in Tel Aviv, the Municipal Theaters in Haifa and Beersheva, and Jerusalem's Hahn The-
ater. HaBima and the Cameri have a wide repertoire of original Israeli and translated foreign
plays. Beit Lessin and the Haifa theater, though historically they sought controversy, have now
turned to musicals and more commercial plays. The well-known Gesher Theatre in Tel Aviv -
Jaffa was founded by Russian immigrants.
Since the 1970s, there have been several attempts to establish a professional theater to
serve Arabic speakers, but among them only the Beit HaGeffen Theater, located in the Arab-
Jewish cultural center in Haifa, has survived. Its repertoire consists of pieces written in Arab
states and contemporary pieces translated into Arabic. Arab actors acquire diplomas in act-
Israeli Arab actress/singer Mira Awad (right) and Israeli Jewish singer Ahinoam Nini representing Israel at
the fi rst semifi nal of the Eurovision Song Contest on May 11, 2009, in Moscow, Russia. (Getty Images / Im-
age Bank.)
Search WWH ::




Custom Search