English-speaking theater performances shine at Nissan Native Jerusalem Festival

English-speaking theatergoers will relish the rich selection on stage during the Jerusalem English-Speaking Theater (JEST) Showcase event on December 13. 

Building on the pioneering work done by JEST founders Leah and Larry Stoller from the 1980s to 2014, eleven currently active theater companies will present a taste of their respective productions during the fourth edition of the Nissan Nativ Jerusalem Theater Festival.

The idea materialized thanks to Danny Freedman, who some readers might remember from a recent production of Alice by Heart (Starcatcher theater).

A graduate of the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design faculty of Architecture, Freedman’s final Bezalel project was a detailed plan to take a building in Talpiot and transform it into a permanent home for English-speaking, Jerusalem-based theater groups.

“Nissan Nativ’s production head Nir Segev saw this design and offered us a stage at their Jerusalem festival,” actor, composer, and theater community coordinator Natan Skop told The Jerusalem Post.

Raised and homeschooled in Brooklyn, Skop made aliyah with his parents in 2006, starting his Jerusalem life in Arnona.

He can often be seen in Theater in the Rough productions. For this special event, the theater will offer some scenes from As You Like It. 

Several shows put on in Israel's capital

Segev, like many Israelis outside the Jerusalem anglosphere, was surprised to learn that so many groups are putting up shows in the capital. For example, the upcoming production of Guys and Dolls by Beit Hillel Theater Workshop and a hit from Oliver! by Lionel Bart.  

Born in London’s East End under the surname Begleiter to Galician tailors, Bart created hits for the James Bond 1963 film From Russia with Love and the song “Living Doll” (1959) by Cliff Richard and the Shadows (formerly ‘the Drifters’).

The words penned by this world-famous British-Jewish musical genius will be sung this Friday in Jerusalem with a performance of “I Shall Scream” by the Encore! Educational Theatre Company that delighted many with its revival of Gilbert & Sullivan’s HMS Pinafore. 

A very different work offered on this thespian smorgasbord is a scene from Divine Right.

Written by Roy Doliner, the 2017 play explores the 1263 Barcelona disputation between the Ramban (Moses Nachmanides) and the Dominican friar Pablo Christiani (born as Saul to a Jewish family in Spain). The public argument, recorded in both Latin and Hebrew, was about which faith – Judaism or Christianity – is the right one (Theater and Theology). 

Skop added that he hopes the inclusion in a mostly Hebrew-speaking festival will expose those outside the enthusiasm-fueled Jerusalem English-speaking theater circles to the work being done.

“I hope that we can mutually enrich our theater,” he told the Post.

Created by Guy Cohen, A F*** in the System will premiere on Saturday, December 13, at 9 p.m. An iconoclastic Hebrew-speaking comedy, the work moves between exploring why most of us continue to wear itchy pants to how theater is not at all like hi-tech.

Readers who are looking for something a little more family-oriented might enjoy watching My Dad’s a Birdman. A Hebrew adaptation by Pumbi (Public) Theater of the same-titled 2007 book by British author David Almond.

The Friday, December 13, 10:30 a.m. performance will be followed by a festive celebration marking the emergence of Pumbi as the youngest trope to join the capital’s expanding family of theaters.

JET Showcase will take place on December 13, 11 a.m. roughly 90 minutes long, no intermission. NIS 90 per ticket. A F*** in the System, , December 14, 9 p.m. Hebrew show. NIS 80 per ticket. My Dad’s a Birdman, December 13, 10:30 a.m. Hebrew only. NIS 65 per ticket. 3 Menora St. Call (02) 6721133 to book or visit https://www.nissan-nativ.org.il/he/pestival24  for more.

Guys and Dolls will be shown on December 25, 7:30 p.m. English only. NIS 100 per ticket, Mount Scopus. Visit https://www.eventer.co.il/user/guysdolls to book.