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Noah's Ark and other mythologies By Zipi Shohat Tags: Israel, Theater Rehearsals began Sunday for "Bat Yam-Tykocin Express," a co-production between the Habimah Theater and the Contemporary Theater of Wroclaw, Poland. Actors from both countries are participating, along with Polish director Michal Zadara and Israeli director Yael Ronen. This is a project in two parts, for each of which a play has been written. The first, "Tykocin," was written by Polish playwright Pawel Demirski. It examines the fraught relations between Jews and Poles during and after World War II, as seen by the second generation on both sides. Advertisement Zadara, a young, respected director in his own country, arrived in Israel last weekend. He will be directing Israeli actors Dov Reiser, Yigal Sadeh, Aharon Almog, Ora Rotberg, Hila Vidor and Yael Toker in the play. The second part of the project, rehearsals for which are to begin in Wroclaw in a few days, is "Bat Yam," written by Yael Ronen in collaboration with Polish actors. It depicts an Israeli family searching for its roots in Poland that comes to the village of Tykocin in order to reclaim their stolen property. "Tykocin" and "Bat Yam" will premiere in Wroclaw on November 20 and in Tel Aviv on December 10, and will run thereafter in both cities. "Bat Yam-Tykocin Express" is just one part of a series of productions that mark 2009 as the year of international co-productions in the Israeli theater. They include two each at Habimah and at the Cameri Theater, in addition to co-productions at the Beit Lessin Theater and the Herzliya Theater. The Artistic Director of the Cameri Theater, Omri Nitzan, attributes this renaissance to the European Union, which he says have allocated special funds to productions with a cosmopolitan message. Inspiration and creativity "People are interested in the Israeli theater out of curiosity and admiration, and the entire project stimulates inspiration and creativity," Nitzan says. "Nevertheless, there were a few proposals that we rejected." Ilan Ronen, Nitzan's counterpart at Habimah, says the project began about two years ago. "I have stated on several occasions that we hope not make do with exchanging plays, but rather to link up with major theaters in Europe in varied forms of cooperation, including workshops, readers' theater and international co-productions," Ronen said. "For Habimah this is a step forward in international cooperation." In addition to "Bat Yam-Tykocin Express," Habimah is also cooperating with Berlin's Schaubuhne Theater. Yael Ronen heads the project, "Third Generation," with actors from Habimah and from Germany as well as Palestinian Israelis. The involvement of Yael Ronen in both of Habimah's international projects invites a response from Ilan Ronen, who in addition to being artistic director of Habimah is Yael Ronen's father. "This is a sensitive issue of which we have been aware," Ilan Ronen admits. "Both of the European theaters asked for Yael to direct, based on work of hers they saw in Israel and abroad, and we emphasized to them the sensitivity of the issue. They understood, but they insisted that she direct - and if not, the whole project might be canceled. At this point the management decided that there was no need to punish Habimah because of the insistence on Yael," Ronen concluded. "Third Generation," which Yael Ronen will both write and direct, deals with the period of World War II and the clashes between the Israeli, Palestinian and German narratives as reflected by the third generation. The project began at a workshop that took place in June in Israel and in Germany, with actors Yishai Golan, Ayelet Robinson, Orit Nachmias and Roi Miller from Habimah; Nil Bohrman, Karsten Dahlem, Patrick Godenberg and Judith Strossbenreuter from Schaubuhne; and Palestinian Israeli actors Rauda Sliman, Muhuammad Dabdub, Rabia Khouri and George Iskander. After the workshop, Schaubuhne and Habimah decided to mount a joint production that would be included in both theaters' performance schedule the following year. "Third Generation" will premiere in Berlin next March. Afterward it will be performed in Israel and at festivals throughout Europe, which are already evincing a great deal of interest. Truly international While Habimah is concentrating on events of the 20th century, the Cameri is going further back in history with "Noah's Ark," a truly international co-production with theaters in Poland, Italy, Austria and Germany. It includes actors from all of the participating theaters - Teatr Nowy in Poznan (the host theater), The National Theatre of Kosovo, Schauspielhaus Graz of Austria, Teatro Stabile di Bologna, Staatstheater from Wiesbaden. Liat Glick and Shredi Jabarin representing the Cameri. The director is Janusz Wisniewski of Poland. The play is inspired by the Bible as well as the myths of various peoples. It revolves around the need to save humanity from the threats of flood, pollution, globalization and destruction. "Noah's Ark" premieres September 13 in Poznan, Poland. It will be performed at the Cameri Theater in Tel Aviv in May. The Cameri will be cooperating with the French theater world - the Rond-Pont Theater in Paris and the National Theater of Nancy - in the premiere of "The Promised Land," a new play by Jean-Claude Grimberg, directed by Charles Turjeman, which deals with the relations between French Jewry and Israel. The play will be produced with two casts, one Israeli and one French, and will premier in March in France and in April in Tel Aviv. The Israeli cast includes Keren Mor, Shmuel Vilozny, Rama Messinger and Ohad Shahar. Three cities, three plays Equally interesting is a German-Israeli collaboration between Beit Lessin and the GTA Theater of Berlin over "Berlin Tel Aviv New York" (planned for 2010). Three playwrights, all women, one from each of the cities, will write three original plays about one extended family. The Herzliya Theater Ensemble is planning a collaboration with the Vidi Theater of Lausanne, Switzerland and the Israel Festival on a production of "Orlando," based on Virginia Woolf's book. The world premiere of the play, a poetic portrait of a young aristocrat youth who becomes a woman, will be in January at the Swiss theater. It will premiere in Israel at the 2009 Israel Festival. Amit Drori, an interesting artist who was discovered in "Terminal," produced at the Israel Festival a few years ago, has been assigned to carry out the adaptation, the design and to direct. Actress Sylvia Drori, his wife, is also on board for the production. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Saddam in Tel Aviv Israel's Igal Naor 'never wanted to play Hamlet, only Saddam.' The preacher Archbishop Tutu to UN: Israel may have committed war crime.   1.   What is a Palestinian Israeli ? 09:25  |  SJ 02/09/08

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