{"id":24283,"date":"2013-01-27T05:16:13","date_gmt":"2013-01-27T12:16:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/?p=24283"},"modified":"2013-02-02T06:42:29","modified_gmt":"2013-02-02T13:42:29","slug":"50-shades-of-blue-and-white","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/?p=24283","title":{"rendered":"50 Shades of Blue and White"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you’ve been in Israel for at least a day, you already know that this is a strange, confusing and sometimes difficult country. But it is also very funny! There’s a lot of great material out there for comedians and no lack of stand-up comedy, satire and other fun stuff to enjoy. The problem is: it’s all in Hebrew!!! Are there any comedians out there who are English-speaker friendly?<\/p>\n

\"Hahafuch\"<\/a>
Hahafuch<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Taking a walk on the lighter side of life in Israel are Hahafuch. The English language comedy troupe is currently performing their new show 50 Shades of Blue & White, directed by Gary Rudoren, at Beit Avi Chai. Hahafuch regulars – Josh Kaplan, Debby Kaye, Eran Kraus, Molly Livingstone, and Dudy Starck, were joined by guest comedian Yisrael Campbell, for an evening of comedy sketches, improv and video clips.<\/p>\n

Embracing the all things Israeli in a friendly tackle, no topic is out of bounds for these excellent actors (who also write their own material). From Zionist\/Jewish erotica to war, the unique attributes of the Israeli\u00a0 post office to the dubious pleasures of encounters with airport security – it’s all good for a laugh.<\/p>\n

Founded by a group of new immigrant English speakers, Hahafuch has recently added an Israeli to the troupe, Eran Kraus. The subtle cultural differences in stage presence make for a very good vibe onstage, Kraus brings something very Israeli (that raw, unshaven intense Mediterranean thing) to this mix that really emphasizes the “made in Israel” aspect of this show.<\/p>\n

The strength of this troupe is in their connection to Israel and everyday life. Revealing and reveling in the funny side of this country – rocking on edge of catastrophe, tough to decipher and ridiculously annoying – Hahafuch are talking about the stuff of their own lives, and ours – whether we have lived here for half a century, or just flown in for half a day.<\/p>\n

\"You<\/a>
You know anything goes when… the Rabbi is reading 50 Shades. Yisrael Campbell with Hahafuch\/Photo: Ayelet Dekel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The best sketches are those that feel like they are coming from within, from those feelings and experiences the writers know best: a Rabbi offering an innocent young couple his slightly skewed interpretation of Jewish wedding customs; a teacher whose talk is translated by an enthusiastic yet hilariously inept volunteer; and of course, the title piece, merging Judaism and erotica – yummy! The\u00a0 weakest piece was one that featured a Moroccan character that to my eyes felt too poster-like, even for comedy.<\/p>\n

They are all really good actors and fun to watch in this fast paced evening of short sketches, and to quote Hahafuch: “It’s good to laugh.”<\/p>\n

Hahafuch will be performing at Beit Avi Chai on Wednesday, January 30, 2013 at 20:30. Tickets are 50 NIS\/30 NIS (students and soldiers) and may be purchased online, or call: 02-6215900.<\/p>\n

Links:
\nHahafuch website<\/a>, facebook page<\/a>, event page<\/a>
\nBeit Avi Chai website<\/a>, facebook page<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you’ve been in Israel for at least a day, you already know that this is a strange, confusing and sometimes difficult country. But it is also very funny! There’s a lot of great material out there for comedians and no lack of stand-up comedy, satire and other fun stuff to enjoy. The problem is: […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-culture","category-theater"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24283","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=24283"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24283\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24283"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24283"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}