Zombies galore at Surround Festival in Tel Aviv

Zombies, music, and innovative puppet theater productions take front stage at Hanut Theater Group’s three-day-long Surround Festival, set to open at the end of the month. 

October, a new musical performance by Daniel Sapir and the FTW Orchestra, is a bold attempt to express in music the pain, rage, and sorrow felt after the October 7 Hamas terror attack.

“I locked myself in the recording studio to disconnect from the world,” Sapir said.

The result is a show that promises to expel hurtful energy and introduce a positive one to the soul of the audience.

The Circus of Nothingness, an English-speaking puppet-theater production for adults co-created by Shahar Marom, Deborah Benaslouli, and Sharon Gabay, also deals with loss. Marom told The Jerusalem Post.

“It is a circus but there is nothing in it,” Marom explained. “There are no elephants, no lions, no flying trapeze – but from this nothingness an entire circus is built.”

The plot is about a circus couple: Charlie the ringmaster and Mary the acrobat. Charlie is struck by grief when Mary commits suicide. The theme is universal, but the innovative technology behind it – and its emotional impact in a society dealing with massive grief – are very Israeli.

Guided by Los Angeles-born accent coach Natalie Pollak, the actors underwent specific English language training for this production. “The main goal was clarity rather than perfecting an American accent,” she told the Post.

Having made aliyah a decade ago, Pollak created Speak Easy, an accent coaching business, to help Israeli actors – and all other Hebrew speakers – who want to improve their spoken English.

“The focus,” she said, “was on allowing them to speak clearly and confidently, letting their characters shine through without being hindered by the language.”

“We are a theatrical start-up,” Marom explained. The bodies of the actors were scanned and dozens of puppets were made based on these measurements using advanced 3D printers. 

“Puppet theater might seem like a century-old art form,” he said, “but what keeps it going forward is state-of-the-art technology.” 

FAMILIES WITH young children might enjoy Don Q, an adaptation by Anna Viktorova of the great 1605 Spanish novel Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. Adult patrons who crave danger might relish Zombie Drive In.

MuZeuM was a previous Hanut Theater group production in which audience members were led by the now rehabilitated undead in a post-apocalyptic museum, where they were shown how Israeli security forces dealt with the brain-eaters. Patrons will now be able to watch the 2004 comedy Shaun of the Dead, in Late Night Zombies Drive In, a homage to MuZeuM where the walking dead growl while handing them tickets and selling popcorn.

Artistic director Amit Gour emphasized that there will be moments when the Zombies at the drive-in will respond to the filmed scenes shown.

“Their passion is to chomp, so it is interesting to see what happens when they are exposed to this temptation shown on the large screen,” he told the Post.

“This is the moment where they can crack – like anyone else who attempts to break out of a pattern.”

Gour noted that the imaginary tale in MuZeuM began at a fictional dance party, when Zombies first begin biting people. This bears an uncanny resemblance to the Supernova tragedy, where young party-goers were murdered by Hamas terrorists.

“Zombies are meant to be for a niche audience who likes blood and gore,” he remarked. “Now we are all in that audience – and not by our own choice. This entire year has been macabre.”

Daniel Sapir and the FTW Orchestra will perform on Thursday, October 31, at 9 p.m. NIS 25 per ticket. Don Q will be shown on Friday, November 1, at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. NIS 90 per ticket. The Circus of Nothingness will be shown on Saturday, November 2, at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. English language performance. NIS 90 per ticket. Late Night Zombies Drive In will be performed on Saturday, November 2, at 9:30 p.m. NIS 65 per ticket. 5 Tel Giburim St. 2nd floor. Visit https://www.hanut31.co.il/ to learn more about the festival shows and to book tickets.