34th Haifa International Children’s Play Festival: A Celebration of Creativity and Imagination

2024-04-07 08:44:10

The 34th Haifa International Children’s Play Festival will be held on Passover and this year will include seven world premiere original productions, alongside plays from the best children’s theaters in Israel, and a delegation of street theater artists from around the world. The festival shows are paid and the street shows are open to the public free of charge

Odia Schwetz Publication: 11:43 – 07/04/24

father story | Photographs: Jarar Alon, Ilan Bashor

The 34th Haifa International Festival for Children’s Plays will be held during Passover, Wednesday through Friday, April 24-26 at the Haifa Theater. This year the festival will include seven world premiere original productions, alongside quality and special performances from the best children’s theaters in Israel, as well as a delegation of street theater artists from around the world. The festival will include paid performances and street performances that will be open to the public at no cost.

The festival will be opened by the show “Father’s Story” – a musical show with the songs of the creator and singer Miki Gabrielov, who is celebrating 60 years of creativity this year.

The lion inside Photography: Jarar Alon

This year, about 150 original plays were submitted. From these, the five plays participating in the competition were finally selected. The performances were carefully selected by the artistic committee of the festival and its artistic director, Roi Segev.

The competition plays that will premiere are: “Giving in countries like no other” – a musical play full of imagination. An adventure trip combining songs by Naomi Shemer and music by Shlomo Gronich, produced by the Haifa Theater; “Mistik” – a wild and funny puppet theater, about an orderly teacher, and a mischievous Mistik who decides to disturb her, make her laugh and do everything to throw her off balance, produced by the Carriage Theater; “The Mozzarella Rat” – you won’t believe what happens to her… a funny and musical adventure about a rat who decides to compete in a singing competition even though she is known for over-faking. in the spectacle theater production; “The Lion Within” – a funny and wild adaptation of the book by Rachel Bright and Jim Field. What happens when a tiny and fearful mouse gets tired of feeling invisible? There’s only one way to roar really loud. a musical show produced by the Meditech Theater; “No Powers” – the story of Michael and Alon who dream of being the stars of a school’s basketball team, but unfortunately, they miss the bus. Produced by the Haifa Theater and the Kibbutz Theater.

Along with the competition plays, the Haifa Theater play “Of Me is Crowded” will also premiere – a play by Gil Czarnovitz and Mittal Selkmon-Ratan, directed by Gil Czarnovitz. The show tells about Gershon’s family, which lives in a very crowded room in a small room, and urgently needs a solution. The advice the family receives from the village sage sounds completely illogical, but then they find out how smart she is, and the overcrowding problem is solved in a surprising way.

This year, the festival will host high-quality and unique plays from the best children’s theaters in Israel, including “The Little Prince”, “Let’s say the world was a child”, “Dry Sea”, alongside plays for toddlers, accessible plays, plays for the visually impaired, dance theater and more.

The Mozzarella Rat Photography: Jarar Alon

Despite the challenges, the open-air street theater complex will be established at the festival, under the artistic direction of Yanon Tzafrir and Gibson Bar-El, Ortho-Da Group, and will provide an exciting and unforgettable experience to the audience. Entrance to the complex, as every year, free of charge. The festival will feature performances accessible to children with special needs and the visually impaired. Also, for the families of the evacuees, tickets will be allocated free of charge to selected shows, by prior arrangement.

“Children are very, very sensitive to what is happening around them, their sensors are constantly on the receiving end and they experience heightened emotional experiences,” says Haifa Theater CEO Nitza Ben Zvi, “this year with all the pain we are experiencing, we are also in a constant storm of emotions. Therefore, this year especially , I would like to invite you, the parents and grandparents, to experience the festival with us with an open heart like children, to see the world through their eyes and to give balm to the aching soul. If only for a few days of happiness and a smile. The best artists and creators in the field of children’s plays are guests at our festival, and I am proud to be at the head An institution that makes a tradition of high culture accessible to everyone, from the entire spectrum of Israeli society.”