Hillel Mitelpunkt’s new play Ima (Mother) is a strong family drama that focuses on four women, their individual paths and secrets, and the way that they affect one another. The Beit Lessin production stars Yona Elian-Keshet as Sheli, an Israeli singer who, due to an impulsive expletive made live on air, lost her standing, and could not continue her career in her home country. Over the past 40 years, she has made a living, if not a successful career, in the United States, leaving behind her two daughters Hobi (Yael Vekstein) and Dikla (Daniel Gal). As I’ve written previously about Mittelpunkt’s writing for the theatre, he “has a feel for outsiders, figures who stand out from the crowd, as in Gorodish, become pariahs as in The Wolves, or are eking out an existence on the margins of society, as may be seen in Grocery Store.” In this instance, the gaze is turned on the most intimate of circles, the relationship between mothers and daughters, and on a mother who is a kind of outsider.
“Mother” is a very charged word, evoking strong feelings and certain expectations. A mother is expected to be entirely devoted to her children, loving them and by her example, teaching them how to love, caring for their physical and emotional needs. It is almost as if when a woman becomes a mother, her existence as an individual is completely obliterated by her new role in life. Of course, it’s not necessarily so extreme, yet becoming a mother while retaining one’s career and goals in life, is a complex challenge. Sheli is a mother who has in some sense abandoned her daughters, by pursuing her career abroad. Yet as the play unfolds, it becomes apparent that Hobi and Dikla experience an emotional abandonment that is harsher than the physical distance.
Hobi has literally followed in her late father’s footsteps, becoming a carpenter and living in the family apartment with the workshop adjacent. Neta Haker’s set design realizes this work/living arrangement beautifully, with the workshop glimpsed through windows, as well as the love of wood, as evidenced in the time-worn, old school style unvarnished door at the entrance to the home. A single lesbian with no children, Hobi’s specialty is making children’s furniture. Although the timeline of the family is a bit hazy, there is the implication that Hobi took on the role of “mothering” when Sheli left the family, caring for her younger sister Dikla. Avia Bash’s costume design clearly delineates the differences between the two sisters. Hobi is first seen in denim overalls, while Dikla, a lawyer on her way up the success ladder, is impressively elegant from her shining, high, ponytail, to her black trench coat.
When Sheli is invited to appear on Israeli television for the first time in 40 years, her homecoming evokes strong feelings, and very different responses from each of her two daughters. Another character who appears on the scene is Mikey (Mika Sevik), who was injured at a protest, and Hobi took her home to bandage her wounds. Mikey brings a warmth and exuberant energy into this mix, a foil to Hobi’s somewhat stern and austere manner. One of the more subtle themes in the play, which is not explored but rather hinted at, is that of freedom of speech. Sheli was made an outcast for criticizing the government, regrettably, on live tv. Was her censure too harsh? It is not discussed in the play, yet the question remains beneath the surface. More keenly, perhaps, as the play opens with Hobi and Mikey returning from a protest – Hobi’s first, while the very likeable Mikey is an avid protester.
Yet at the center of this whirlwind is Sheli, and Yona Elian-Keshet delivers an outstanding performance. It’s not an easy role to walk into, the aging rocker in mini-skirt and leather jacket, the mother who left her daughters behind. Elian-Keshet portrays Sheli in all her complexity, weaknesses and strengths. She is driven and determined, and she also tends to believe in her own fantasies. Her one big hit was a song called “Sticks and Stones,” evoking a quote often attributed to Einstein: “I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.” But when the music begins to play, and Sheli sings and dances, there is an incredible transformation, suddenly, she is larger than life. Yona Elian-Keshet is magical, she makes it happen, you see Sheli is her weakest moments, her narcissism, and in the gift of her artistry.
Beit Lessin: Mother (Ima)
Written and directed by Hillel Mitelpunkt
Set Design: Neta Haker; Costume Design: Avia Bash; Music: Avi Belleli; Lighting Design: Ziv Voloshin; Cast: Yona Elian-Keshet – Sheli, Daniel Gal – Dikla, Yael Vekstein – Hobi, Mika Sivek – Mikey
Upcoming performances July 4 – 7, 2025 at Beit Lessin.
