Auditor’s report Yerami Amir / premiere
★★★★★
Ibsen’s play, written more than a hundred years ago, deals with themes that are well known to us today: a compulsive desire for ruling capital, a deadly collision between pig capitalism and the values of love, culture, creation and preservation of nature.
This is a play about pride, revenge and loss, and about beautiful souls, in the good sense, fighting against the modern and materialistic world.
And how is the show? Less good than the play. Veteran director Yossi Yazraeli does not make life easy for the audience. Henrik Ibsen’s complex drama hovers over the play, but does not penetrate its bloodstream.
Yazraeli claims that he believes in “complex” theater, which succeeds in “liberating”. What is complex theater? Life is complex. Theater should be, among other things, interesting, exciting, funny, sad, upsetting, shocking, stimulating. Theater should create a unique experience for the spectators. And above all – not boring.
It takes a lot of courage to put on the play “John Gabriel Burkman”. It takes a lot of creativity to make it interesting on stage. The performance of the Espamania ensemble proceeds slowly, sometimes with pathos. It is difficult to connect with the plot and characters, who suffer most of the time. Some of the characters retain a touch, but not for the reasons we know, but to symbolize the alienation in which we live. You can connect it, if you want, to the post-corona period. The problem is that the show keeps a touch from the audience as well.
There are some beautiful pictures in the show. I liked the empty stage (apart from a chair placed in the middle). It apparently symbolizes emptiness, but mainly allows the audience to use their imagination and the actors – freedom of action. Shalom Shmuelov, Dalia Shimko and Hadar Galron stand out among the players.
“John Gabriel Burkman” is a challenging, pessimistic and hard-to-digest show and above all – does not pander to the audience. A little humor, I think, wouldn’t hurt. even in difficult moments.