A play with singing and dancing? Are you warming to musicals Rev Stan I hear you ask? No, is the simple answer. Wanted to see this production by Theatre Ad Infinitum because it looked quirky and different from the trailer (and if I didn't like it, it was short at one hour 20 minutes.)
It's one of those productions that is quite difficult to describe. The BAC seems to have the knack of choosing them that way. It is part story about the history of Israel, part story of an Israeli boy called Israel; it is part cabaret, part drag show, part dance show and it all equals something that is edgy in its mixture of entertainment and dark story-telling.
It's the sort of show in which the hero Israel is played by a man (Nir Paldi) in drag – essentially a man playing a woman playing a boy. It is a bit slow to get going with a lesson in Israeli language and its ambiguities, for example, the word for bomb, we are told, is the same as that used to describe someone sexy. In hindsight it sets up the conflict of Israel both the country, in coming to terms with its past and dealing with its future, and the boy in experiencing war and terrorism first hand while recognising the wrongs of his people.
After the introduction the story of Israel begins with the shooting of a boy at a settlement in occupied territory, a scene which ultimately becomes the end, the narrative back-tracking to what led up to this point. The other characters in Israel's story are played by the rest of the all-female, international cast, all dressed identically in military/dance style costumes. Then by means of spoken word, music, song and dance we follow Israel and his family through his childhood and into early adulthood.
This is theatre of surprises the tone and content frothy one moment, explosive and gut-wrenching the next. It is at times breathtaking to watch. If I was to have a teeny grumble it would be say that it occasionally feels a little laboured and trimming would serve it well. Some of the narrative is also lost in the presentation (a bit too much shouting which muddies the diction).
But grumbles aside this is daringly different theatre that packs a padded-bra and gold heeled punch. If you can, catch it before it finishes this weekend.
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