Auditor’s report Yerami Amir / premiere
★★★★★
The most interesting theater event these days takes place neither in the Bhima Theater nor in the Chamber. Neither in Tel Aviv nor in Jerusalem. It’s happening between the desert and the sea, in Eilat, at the Elad Theater.
The young and kicking theater held a relaunch this week in which it staged a number of plays. The main one was the premiere of “The Coastline”, which offers a different, challenging experience, unlike what you have seen in the theater to date.
What is so special about the show? It takes place not in an ordinary hall, but throughout the old and abandoned terminal in Eilat. The terminal has become a theater arena, where the audience is part of the event. The audience follows in the footsteps of the actors, who move between the floors and levels of the terminal.
The play, written by the Lebanese Wajdi Moawed, tells about a son’s journey in the footsteps of his father, whom he never knew. I won’t go into detail so as not to spoil the human and touching story for you. sometimes heartbreaking.
This is a physical and mental journey into the depths of human pain. There is also humor and some moments of pleasure, and also unnecessary moments, where the story repeats itself and loses height. The location is colorful, but the content is sparse and the second part seems more like a gimmick, stretched out.
I didn’t like the play and it’s not clear to me the choice of this particular play to relaunch the theater. It would have been advisable to choose a more communicative, rich and varied work.
The actors – Yoav Donet, Eli Danker, Dana Yitzhakhi, Guy Cohen-Shelo, Edva Levy, Yariv Kook and Neely Rogel cope impressively with the text, even when it is less interesting. All of them are good and interesting, and Shay Pitovsky’s direction is full of inventions, creativity and creations.
I have a weakness for another, alternative theater, which is so lacking in Israel. Brave, kicking, exposed, daring, sensitive and exciting theater. The Elad Theater is on its way to becoming such a theater with a cohesive group of actors and creators.
“The Shoreline” is no longer a show, but a shocking and surprising experience that works on all the senses and touches dark and bright places of the soul. It is hard for me to say that this is a pleasant experience. This is not a fun event in the usual sense of the word. It’s simply a theater you won’t see anywhere else. One of the actors says in the play: “Living is not for the weak.” The “shoreline” is not for the weak.
And if you thought that the actors of the Elad Theater only like to “suffer” and engage in “deep” material, then no. The day before the show they performed in a wine bar in Eilat with the light and sexy show It Must Be Love and proved that they also know how to rejoice, entertain, sing and love.