{"id":1213,"date":"2009-08-30T14:55:11","date_gmt":"2009-08-30T21:55:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/?p=1213"},"modified":"2009-09-09T08:32:26","modified_gmt":"2009-09-09T15:32:26","slug":"bat-yam-street-theatre-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/?p=1213","title":{"rendered":"Bat Yam International Street Theatre Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Bat Yam is off the map as far as the average Tel Aviv theatre-lover is concerned. Too far and too plebian \u2013 the perfect place for the Bat Yam International Street Theatre Festival which took place August 25 \u2013 27th. Free in every sense of the word, the festival creates an encounter with a different art form that revels in the unexpected.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Artistic director Ati Citron culled together wildly diverse international and local artists for a three day carnival on the Bat Yam boardwalk. The uninitiated often misconstrue the art of street theatre, believing it to be the domain of spontaneous exhibitionists. They couldn\u2019t be more wrong. The art of performing outdoors, confronting street crowds and attracting their attention, requires thought, creativity and serious rehearsals.<\/p>\n<p>Although I had a neatly mapped out itinerary of performances I wanted to see, the crowds and noise dictated: abandon plans all ye who enter here \u2013 and I obeyed, drifting down the boardwalk, lingering to look and savor the passing moment accompanied by photographer Elizur Reuveni. Here are some of the highlights of our journey:\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"mceTemp\">\n<figure id=\"attachment_1219\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1219\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/IMG_9172small.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1219\" title=\"IMG_9172small\" src=\"http:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/IMG_9172small-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"Electric Invasions\/Photo: Elizur Reuveni\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/IMG_9172small-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/IMG_9172small.JPG 389w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1219\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Electric Invasions\/Photo: Elizur Reuveni<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Oh look &#8211; shiny!!! Had to stop to investigate&#8230;it seems the cube landed\u00a0 several days before the start of the festival and began emitting strange noises. On the 25th creatures emerged and began roaming through the city. Intrepid photographer Reuveni crawled through the long pink passageway into the cube and discovered a creature inside, while this writer encountered a pink masked traveller from outer space and conducted a non-verbal interview. Some say the theatre group KUD LJUD from Slovenia are responsible for the pink invasion. As for me, I will always have my memories of a Bat Yam encounter of the strange kind, and a bit of pink fluff to treasure always.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" codebase=\"http:\/\/download.macromedia.com\/pub\/shockwave\/cabs\/flash\/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"flashvars\" value=\"offsite=true&amp;lang=en-us&amp;page_show_url=%2Fphotos%2Fmidnighteast%2Fsets%2F72157622062929193%2Fshow%2F&amp;page_show_back_url=%2Fphotos%2Fmidnighteast%2Fsets%2F72157622062929193%2F&amp;set_id=72157622062929193&amp;jump_to=\" \/><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" \/><param name=\"src\" value=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/apps\/slideshow\/show.swf?v=71649\" \/><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" \/><embed type=\"application\/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" src=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/apps\/slideshow\/show.swf?v=71649\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" flashvars=\"offsite=true&amp;lang=en-us&amp;page_show_url=%2Fphotos%2Fmidnighteast%2Fsets%2F72157622062929193%2Fshow%2F&amp;page_show_back_url=%2Fphotos%2Fmidnighteast%2Fsets%2F72157622062929193%2F&amp;set_id=72157622062929193&amp;jump_to=\"><\/embed><\/object><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1225\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1225\" style=\"width: 389px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/IMG_9269small.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1225\" title=\"IMG_9269small\" src=\"http:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/IMG_9269small.JPG\" alt=\"V\u00fcfenbach and Z\u00fcfenheim arrive from Germ\u00f6\u03b2strumkampf\/Photo: Elizur Reuveni\" width=\"389\" height=\"259\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/IMG_9269small.JPG 389w, https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/IMG_9269small-300x199.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 389px) 100vw, 389px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1225\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">V\u00fcfenbach and Z\u00fcfenheim arrive from Germ\u00f6\u03b2strumkampf\/Photo: Elizur Reuveni<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1226\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1226\" style=\"width: 259px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/IMG_9270small.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1226\" title=\"IMG_9270small\" src=\"http:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/IMG_9270small.JPG\" alt=\"with their cultural attache, Vagina\/Photo: Elizur Reuveni\" width=\"259\" height=\"389\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/IMG_9270small.JPG 259w, https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/IMG_9270small-199x300.jpg 199w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 259px) 100vw, 259px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1226\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">with their cultural attache, Vagina\/Photo: Elizur Reuveni<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"mceTemp\">This lively and comical group brought their heavily accented message of peace, unfortunately, I was swept away by the crowds before I could figure out exactly what they were trying to convey. Perhaps I&#8217;ll be able to catch them at the next stop on their tour &#8212; the Acco Fringe Theatre Festival in October.<\/div>\n<div class=\"mceTemp\">As we made our way north up the boardwalk, we encountered some tall walkers who had a prophetic message for the crowd. These\u00a0creatures from the theatre department of the Shazar high school in Bat Yam and the Sandciel School of Circus Arts, are the result of workshops led by members of the <a href=\"www.teatrbiuropodrozy.ipoznan.pl\" target=\"_blank\">Teatr Biuro Podrozy\u00a0<\/a>. Members of the company (in Israel this past April\u00a0for a performance of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/?p=695\" target=\"_blank\">&#8220;Macbeth&#8221;<\/a> at the Cameri) taught them an unusual form of theatre: creating characters and situations while walking on stilts. Costumes were designed by students from the Rakefet Levy School for Theatre Design.<\/div>\n<div class=\"mceTemp\">Amusing and terrorizing the onlookers with prophecies that ranged from &#8220;You will drink an ice Aroma&#8221; (coffee drink) to telling one rather young woman &#8220;In 40 years and 10 minutes you will die,&#8221; the long legged creatures were elegant, funny and appropriately cruel.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" codebase=\"http:\/\/download.macromedia.com\/pub\/shockwave\/cabs\/flash\/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"flashvars\" value=\"offsite=true&amp;lang=en-us&amp;page_show_url=%2Fphotos%2Fmidnighteast%2Fsets%2F72157622184300396%2Fshow%2F&amp;page_show_back_url=%2Fphotos%2Fmidnighteast%2Fsets%2F72157622184300396%2F&amp;set_id=72157622184300396&amp;jump_to=\" \/><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" \/><param name=\"src\" value=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/apps\/slideshow\/show.swf?v=71649\" \/><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" \/><embed type=\"application\/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" src=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/apps\/slideshow\/show.swf?v=71649\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" flashvars=\"offsite=true&amp;lang=en-us&amp;page_show_url=%2Fphotos%2Fmidnighteast%2Fsets%2F72157622184300396%2Fshow%2F&amp;page_show_back_url=%2Fphotos%2Fmidnighteast%2Fsets%2F72157622184300396%2F&amp;set_id=72157622184300396&amp;jump_to=\"><\/embed><\/object>\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"mceTemp\">\n<dl id=\"attachment_1227\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"width: 399px;\">\n<dt class=\"wp-caption-dt\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/IMG_9347small.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1227\" title=\"IMG_9347small\" src=\"http:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/IMG_9347small.JPG\" alt=\"Cal Y Canto - A -TA - KA!\/Photo: Elizur Reuveni\" width=\"389\" height=\"259\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/IMG_9347small.JPG 389w, https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/IMG_9347small-300x199.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 389px) 100vw, 389px\" \/><\/a><\/dt>\n<dd class=\"wp-caption-dd\">Cal Y Canto &#8211; A -TA &#8211; KA!\/Photo: Elizur Reuveni<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<p>As we continued north along the beach, we were mesmerized by the swirling kites flown by the Cal Y Canto theatre group from Spain, who created a dance of light and color in the sky with shapes inspired by the sea.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>And in case anyone was feeling a bit lost, worried or concerned in any way,<\/p>\n<p>Dan was there to reassure one and all that &#8220;Everything is OK.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/IMG_9351small.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-1229\" title=\"IMG_9351small\" src=\"http:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/IMG_9351small.JPG\" alt=\"IMG_9351small\" width=\"265\" height=\"259\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Wishes do come true, especially in the theatre, wherever it may be. I have always known that fairies are real, but the fairies we saw in Bat Yam (who arrived all the way from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theatredelunite.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Theatre de l&#8217;Unite <\/a>in France) were so <em>very<\/em> real &#8212; loud, fast, ominous and aggressive: everything a fairy should be. From the Carbohydrate Fairy to the Philharmonic &#8211; &#8220;I like to play on all sorts of instruments&#8221;, Falafel &#8211; no explanation needed, and the Fairy Queen &#8211; &#8220;Because in my heart, I am a princess&#8221;, they all rode their scooters with death-defying\u00a0 intensity and did all the wonderful things that fairies do: granting wishes, frightening the common folk and singing to babies.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<br \/>\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" codebase=\"http:\/\/download.macromedia.com\/pub\/shockwave\/cabs\/flash\/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"flashvars\" value=\"offsite=true&amp;lang=en-us&amp;page_show_url=%2Fphotos%2Fmidnighteast%2Fsets%2F72157622184346028%2Fshow%2F&amp;page_show_back_url=%2Fphotos%2Fmidnighteast%2Fsets%2F72157622184346028%2F&amp;set_id=72157622184346028&amp;jump_to=\" \/><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" \/><param name=\"src\" value=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/apps\/slideshow\/show.swf?v=71649\" \/><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" \/><embed type=\"application\/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" src=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/apps\/slideshow\/show.swf?v=71649\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" flashvars=\"offsite=true&amp;lang=en-us&amp;page_show_url=%2Fphotos%2Fmidnighteast%2Fsets%2F72157622184346028%2Fshow%2F&amp;page_show_back_url=%2Fphotos%2Fmidnighteast%2Fsets%2F72157622184346028%2F&amp;set_id=72157622184346028&amp;jump_to=\"><\/embed><\/object><\/p>\n<p>For those whose heart&#8217;s desire was not fulfilled by prophecy or fairies, there was the market.\u00a0Director Sara Sibony and\u00a0the uninhibited\u00a0imaginative theatre group from Reka House in Yaffo, were prepared to sell anything and everything &#8212; including their mother. From a restaurant where every imaginable food is served, to\u00a0tuna flavored aftershave or a new wardrobe &#8212; it&#8217;s a shopping experience unlike any other.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" codebase=\"http:\/\/download.macromedia.com\/pub\/shockwave\/cabs\/flash\/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"flashvars\" value=\"offsite=true&amp;lang=en-us&amp;page_show_url=%2Fphotos%2Fmidnighteast%2Fsets%2F72157622063861311%2Fshow%2F&amp;page_show_back_url=%2Fphotos%2Fmidnighteast%2Fsets%2F72157622063861311%2F&amp;set_id=72157622063861311&amp;jump_to=\" \/><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" \/><param name=\"src\" value=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/apps\/slideshow\/show.swf?v=71649\" \/><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" \/><embed type=\"application\/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" src=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/apps\/slideshow\/show.swf?v=71649\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" flashvars=\"offsite=true&amp;lang=en-us&amp;page_show_url=%2Fphotos%2Fmidnighteast%2Fsets%2F72157622063861311%2Fshow%2F&amp;page_show_back_url=%2Fphotos%2Fmidnighteast%2Fsets%2F72157622063861311%2F&amp;set_id=72157622063861311&amp;jump_to=\"><\/embed><\/object><\/p>\n<p>At the end of the boardwalk, we saw an enormous yellow mechanical digger &#8212; unfortunately a sight that is not too unusual on Israel&#8217;s beaches, that are not protected by restrictions against construction. But this was something different: an experience that redefined grace, beauty, and dance . In the duet created by\u00a0the French\u00a0<a href=\"www.ciebeaugeste.com\" target=\"_blank\">Compagnie Beau Geste<\/a>, An elegant (and not at all young) man approached the digger as the music swelled and began a duet. Provocative, tender and beautiful, the duet between the two revealed the power of the dancer and the delicacy of the machine.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" codebase=\"http:\/\/download.macromedia.com\/pub\/shockwave\/cabs\/flash\/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"flashvars\" value=\"offsite=true&amp;lang=en-us&amp;page_show_url=%2Fphotos%2Fmidnighteast%2Fsets%2F72157622059903047%2Fshow%2F&amp;page_show_back_url=%2Fphotos%2Fmidnighteast%2Fsets%2F72157622059903047%2F&amp;set_id=72157622059903047&amp;jump_to=\" \/><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" \/><param name=\"src\" value=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/apps\/slideshow\/show.swf?v=71649\" \/><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" \/><embed type=\"application\/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" src=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/apps\/slideshow\/show.swf?v=71649\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" flashvars=\"offsite=true&amp;lang=en-us&amp;page_show_url=%2Fphotos%2Fmidnighteast%2Fsets%2F72157622059903047%2Fshow%2F&amp;page_show_back_url=%2Fphotos%2Fmidnighteast%2Fsets%2F72157622059903047%2F&amp;set_id=72157622059903047&amp;jump_to=\"><\/embed><\/object><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0One can only imagine what next year&#8217;s festival will bring.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bat Yam is off the map as far as the average Tel Aviv theatre-lover is concerned. Too far and too plebian \u2013 the perfect place for the Bat Yam International Street Theatre Festival which took place August 25 \u2013 27th. Free in every sense of the word, the festival creates an encounter with a different [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1213","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-theater"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1213","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1213"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1213\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}