For many Israelis, the Bible is the chunky black object placed in their hands along with a handshake and a smile from the principal at their high school graduation, tribal memorabilia to put on a shelf. The enforced intimacy of religion and government in Israel combined with the tedium of the educational system has resulted in a mixture of apathy and antipathy, particularly among the younger, secular crowd. Yet at the same time it is regarded with\u00a0a reverence that renders it remote and unapproachable. To engage the biblical texts is to invite a barrage of criticism from every direction. We do not touch the Bible, or let it touch our lives. Prof. Shimon Levy has not only been teaching the Bible to his students, but uses it as text for \u201cBlessed Above Women\u201d, which premieres this week in the Department of Theatre Arts at Tel Aviv University. Aware of the tension that exists between his \u201ctremendous respect for the Bible\u201d and the freedom he and his students exercise in this production, he is against \u201cthe traditional perspective that the Bible belongs only to religious people. Each verse deserves many hours of interpretation and feeling.\u201d Asking the question \u201cwhat is theatrical in the Bible itself?\u201d Levy has worked with several students for over a year, first in a course on \u201cThe Bible as Theatre\u201d, then in a workshop using playback theatre methods. In the current production, the selected Biblical texts are performed \u201cas written\u201d, with voice, music, movement and setting providing the interpretation. Regarding the question of belief, Levy says, \u201cWhen someone watches Hamlet they don\u2019t ask if the ghost of Hamlet\u2019s father is real. Whoever believes, believes, and whoever doesn\u2019t \u2013 that is all right too.\u201d In looking at the Bible from a theatrical perspective, Levy has found that not every text is suited to this approach. The texts selected for this performance are somewhat linked by a feminist perspective, not only in featuring women of the Bible, but in the treatment of texts such as Ezekiel Chapter 17, depicting the relationship between Jerusalem and God as that of a woman and her abuser. The emotional tone ranges from solemn to playful and everything in between, with interpretations social, personal and political. Some scenes will provoke laughter, others may provoke, shock or enrage. As Levy says, \u201cWhen you take the Bible and give it an interpretation, it cannot please everyone, and that is part of the idea.\u201d Levy would like to encourage involvement with the Bible and discussion of the issues and emotions raised therein. He feels that engaging with the texts can have a \u201chealing effect on modern theatre, which is in dire need.\u201d The intellectual and emotional commitment of this talented group of actors, with the creative direction and serious humor of Levy, results in an intense theatrical experience \u2013 and the playwright is one of a kind.<\/p>\n
Image credit: Arale<\/p>\n
Blessed Above Women<\/p>\n
17.6.09 \u2013 26.6.09<\/p>\n
Performances at 20:30, Friday 12:30 and Saturday 21:00<\/p>\n
Room 207 \u201cBet\u201d Mexico Building, Tel Aviv University Entrance through Gate 8<\/p>\n
Information: 03-6407480<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For many Israelis, the Bible is the chunky black object placed in their hands along with a handshake and a smile from the principal at their high school graduation, tribal memorabilia to put on a shelf. The enforced intimacy of religion and government in Israel combined with the tedium of the educational system has resulted […]<\/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-726","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\/726","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=726"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/726\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=726"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=726"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=726"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}