{"id":55128,"date":"2025-07-03T12:11:52","date_gmt":"2025-07-03T09:11:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/?p=55128"},"modified":"2025-07-03T12:11:52","modified_gmt":"2025-07-03T09:11:52","slug":"khan-theatre-the-servant-of-two-masters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/?p=55128","title":{"rendered":"Khan Theatre: The Servant of Two Masters"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Itay Szor in The Servant of Two Masters – Khan Theatre\/Photo: Yael Ilan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Itay Szor delivers an outstanding performance in the Khan Theatre production of Carlo Goldoni\u2019s The Servant of Two Masters<\/em>, translated to Hebrew by Nissim Aloni. Brilliantly directed by Ariel N. Wolf, the classic comes to vivid and hilarious life, with touches of contemporary relevance and social critique. Szor, the servant of the title, in white face and the slightly smeared drawn-on red smile of a down-on-his-luck clown, brings \u2013 in addition to quicksilver comic timing, outrageously wonderful crowd-work, and physical humor marked by a graceful agility \u2013 a vulnerability and tenderness to his portrayal of Truffaldino that made me see the play \u2013 which I have seen many times before \u2013 in a new light.<\/p>\n

Goldoni\u2019s\u00a0The Servant of Two Masters<\/em>\u00a0draws on the Commedia dell\u2019arte, a theatrical form which relies on stock characters whose persona moves the plot along: Pantalone, the rich, miserly, greedy old man; Dr. Lombardi based on Il Dottore, educated, pompous and pedantic; Truffaldino (also known as Arlecchino) and Smeraldina (based on Columbina) the wily servants. The themes explored here involve relationships, class differences, gender identity, and the status of women in society. The play is set in Venice, Goldoni\u2019s place of birth, where the blue canals and ornate buildings make an attractive backdrop in the painted scenery. Yet both the set design by Nir Manor and costume design by Yahal Jaldety reach far beyond the illustrative to inventive and audacious splendor. As the audience find their seats in the theatre, Smeraldina (Nitsan Levartovsky) walks on to adjust the painting of the Mona Lisa on the wall. Dressed in a red with a sweetheart neckline along with a stiff white cap and apron, her appearance resembles a hot version of a character from The Handmaid\u2019s Tale.<\/p>\n

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Smeraldina (Nitsan Levartovsky) and Brighella (Gal Zak) in The Servant of Two Masters\/Photo: Yael Ilan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Movement and song are an integral part of this terrifically entertaining production, from the musical pseudo-Italian rollicking introduction by Brighella (Gal Zak) translated into Hebrew by Smeraldina, to the various songs belted out by different cast members over the course of the play, from Down in Mexico by The Coasters (1956) to Israeli pop hits like 1973\u2019s Ashlayot (illusions) by Nissim Sarussi and David Chalfon, and many more.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s party time onstage, as Pantalone (Erez Shafrir) and Dr. Lombardi (Nir Ron) celebrate the engagement of their respective offspring, Clarice (Anna Pugatch) and Silvio (Shachar Netz). Clarice had been promised to Pantalone\u2019s business associate, Federico Rasponi, but he was killed in a duel. A happy outcome for Clarice and Silvio who are in love. However, when the servant Truffaldino (Itay Szor) announces that his master Federico is not only alive but in town, the business agreement takes precedent over love, much to the dismay of the young lovers. You know things are going to get crazy when Federico rides in on a huge pink horse, and the rider is actually his sister, Beatrice (Irit Pashtan), who is in love with Florindo Aretusi (Yossi Eini) and is impersonating her brother so that she can claim the money Pantalone owes Federico. The funny, convoluted plot is marked by terrific performances from the entire cast.<\/p>\n

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Khan Theatre: The Servant of Two Masters\/Photo: Yael Ilan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Irit Pashtan\u2019s successive appearances in different costumes reflect different images of masculinity, and her character\u2019s narrative trajectory reflects the status of women in society and is also a reflection on the meaning of love and relationships. As is the character of Clarice, who appears as one of the ultimate images of femininity and sexuality, clad in the Marilyn Monroe style white dress. A different voice is heard from Smeraldina, a voice of experience and pragmatism, from her perspective as a servant. When Clarice exclaims to Silvio \u201cI\u2019m all yours,\u201d Smeraldina comments: \u201cWon\u2019t you keep something for yourself?\u201d<\/p>\n

Yet the heart of the play is Truffaldino, the nimble, clever, servant who finds a way to work for two masters. Endlessly inventive, his verbal acrobatics are marvelously entertaining as he brazenly prevaricates his way through every situation. His goal? It\u2019s simple. He’s hungry, and he wants to eat. There is a poignant sincerity to Szor\u2019s performance that stands out amid the extravagant antics and invites the viewer\u2019s empathy for the hungry servant, who is so hungry, he\u2019s willing to go to crazy, ridiculous, lengths to get a meal.<\/p>\n

Upcoming performances from July 15th<\/sup>, tickets and information are available on the Khan Theatre website.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

The Servant of Two Masters<\/em><\/p>\n

A Comedy by Carlo Goldoni<\/p>\n

Translated into Hebrew by Nissim Aloni<\/p>\n

Directed by Ariel N. Wolf<\/p>\n

Dramaturgy: Ira Orlov; Set Design: Nir Manor; Costume Design: Yahal Jaldety; Music: Itamar Gross; Lighting Design: Roni Cohen; Production Manager: Judit Katz; Cast: Yossi Eini – Florindo Aretusi, Nitsan Levartovsky \u2013 Smeraldina, Shachar Netz \u2013 Silvio, Irit Pashtan \u2013 Beatrice Rasponi, Anna Pugatch \u2013 Clarice, Nir Ron \u2013 Dr. Lombardi, Erez Shafrir \u2013 Pantalone, Itay Szor \u2013 Truffaldino, Gal Zak \u2013 Brighella, Porter, Cook<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Itay Szor delivers an outstanding performance in the Khan Theatre production of Carlo Goldoni\u2019s The Servant of Two Masters, translated to Hebrew by Nissim Aloni. Brilliantly directed by Ariel N. Wolf, the classic comes to vivid and hilarious life, with touches of contemporary relevance and social critique. Szor, the servant of the title, in white […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":55130,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[610,125,612,611,389,49,106,105,613],"class_list":["post-55128","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-theater","tag-carlo-goldoni","tag-comedy","tag-economic-justice","tag-feminism","tag-khan-theatre","tag-love","tag-theater","tag-theatre","tag-transactional-relationships"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55128","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=55128"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55128\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/55130"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=55128"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=55128"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=55128"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}