Meet Roy Horovitz, the actor introducing Israeli theater across the globe

 When he presents Israeli theater abroad, Dr. Roy Horovitz likes to highlight how the Jewish State boasts the highest rate of theatergoers in the world. In recent months, Horovitz has traveled across the globe to present the multifaceted world of the Israeli theatrical scene, with the support of the country’s local embassies.

“I think that Israel is an interesting country from many aspects, but theatrically speaking we have several unique features,” Horovitz said while visiting Kosovo in an interview with the public service broadcaster Radio Television of Kosovo (RTK).

Over the course of his career as an actor and director, Horovitz, who is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Comparative Literature at Bar-Ilan University, has performed in all major theaters in Israel, won several awards and starred in the American movie “The body” with Antonio Banderas.

In Kosovo, Horovitz attended the International Theatre Market event, as part of “Kosovo Theatre Showcase”, organized by Qendra Multimedia with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of Israel. Qendra Multimedia is a cultural organization based in Prishtina, Kosovo, whose main focus is contemporary theater and literature.

“I am having a great time here, the people are the nicest,” the Israeli artist said. “The theater is very interesting and diverse, and I find some common grounds and similarities between the way you deal with your own history and Israeli theatre, and I think that it is a fascinating exchange of ideas and hopefully future cooperation.”

In October, Horovitz was invited to perform at the Teatru Salesian in Malta. Local director-actress Dorothy Bezina attended one of the events and appreciated Horovitz’s work to the point of inviting him to serve as an assistant director and artistic consultant in the production of “The band’s visit” - a musical based on the Israeli movie by Eran Kolirin that is set to debut at the National Theater of Malta in May. 

During a tour of several cities in the US - Pittsburgh, Austin, Denver and Washington DC - Horovitz presented his one-man show, “My first Sony”, based on the book by Benny Barbash. In DC, he performed during the celebrations of the 25th anniversary since the establishment of the Center for Israel Studies at American University.

A few days later in Warsaw, Horovitz offered a lecture about the Israeli theater at the Christian Theological College, highlighting the role of the Bible as a source of inspiration for many playwrights. 

The artist also visited Georgia recently, where he held an artist workshop at the Shota Rustaveli Theater and Film University in Tbilisi. In addition, Israeli Ambassador Hadas Meitzad hosted another workshop in her residence open to local theater professionals and students.

Horovitz’s visit was there especially meaningful because in recent years the Embassy of Israel in Georgia has carried out an initiative to translate several Israeli plays to make them accessible to Georgian citizens, in cooperation with Sulakauri Publishing, a prominent publishing house in the country. The plays selected for the project were written by women and deal with contemporary issues such as the relevance of marriage in the 21st century, sexuality and gender and religion and secularism in the public sphere. The works include “The Secrets” by Hadar Galron, “Oh God” by Anat Gov, “The Revolutionaries” by Dalia Shimko & Yosefa Even Shoshan, “True Love Ltd.” by Sharon Stark and “Days of Atonement” by Hanna Azoulay-Hasfari.