At the end of the new adaptation of “Hamlet” at the Beit Lysin Theater (translation: Dory France), the audience was left with the most famous quote from this play: “To be or not to be?”. “This is actually this eternal question that we all ask ourselves about everything in life.” , says Yoram Toledano, who plays Polonius, the father of Ophelia and Artes in the play. “We live in a time of uncertainty with endless choices. There is an inflation of social networks, a swirl of excess information and multiple screens. The show speaks in this modern language, which leads to an immediate and completely natural connection, so from this point of view this play is more relevant than ever.”
Playwright William Shakespeare famously wrote that “the whole world is a stage”, and director Yair Sherman made this quote a prominent motif in the production about the exploits of the Danish prince that were first told more than 400 years ago, when all the cast members play as the characters of the play, but also as actors, and the stage itself changes according to the need, and sometimes even expands into the audience itself. Among others, Asaf Yunesh plays Hamlet, Rami Hoiberger plays Claudius, Eli Gorenstein plays the late king and Shiri Golan plays Queen Gertrude. “I am convinced that because of the richness of imagery and Yair’s special and new interpretation, manages to sit for three hours without feeling that time passes,” says Toledano.
This is the second time Toledano plays in a production of “Hamlet”. The first time was a few years after he finished his studies at “Beit Zvi”, when the director Steven Berkoff cast him to portray the character of Horatio in the version staged by the Haifa Theater in 1999. “Working on ‘Hamlet’ now was a creative experience that I haven’t experienced in a long time,” says Toledano.
“Working with the young actors participating in the current production at Lisin House is a great experience. They come with a hunger for theatrical work and are ready to go all the way with the director’s head. It reminds me of the beginning of my path. I look at them and am happy to know that with all the years that have passed, I am still excited Like a child before every show and still enjoying my work as at the beginning.”
- Hanukkah is already here: five recommendations for entertaining shows for children
What is it like to do Shakespeare?
“Shakespeare is like candy for actors, it’s a great pleasure for me. For my part, I only do Shakespeare or classics. For me, the role in ‘Hamlet’ is like receiving a gift in the middle of life. It’s a pleasure that a 400-year-old play is still alive and kicking on stage. It’s fun to see a young audience come to it. Who would have thought that Shakespeare would attract young people to the theater?”.
According to Toledano, the stage is a kind of therapy for him. “From the moment the play begins until the end, I am someone else for a limited time. I find that it always does me good – this work of turning my skin and entering another world, for me, is like meditating.”
At the same time, Maor Zagori’s version of “Hamlet” is currently being shown at Bhima. Coincidence?
“It is a timeless play, which can be staged in any theater – even if it is in the same season at the same time, because every ‘Hamlet’ you see will not be similar to the previous one. It is even more interesting to see this and that. That is the beauty of theater.”
on the side of the road
Toledano, 55, was born and raised in Tiberias. “As a child I was a lot in the Sea of Galilee, I sailed a lot in boats and I loved sailboats,” he says. “When I was 15 years old I entered a drama class, and it felt ‘wow’ to me. Something about the interaction with the audience was very strong for me. At no point did I imagine that I would be an actor, because the army put it out of my mind, not to mention that the trip after the army kept me away Absolutely. When I returned to Israel and life actually began, I remembered that drama class in Tiberias. I decided to try my luck, and here I am.”
Over the years Toledano has played in a variety of series, including “War Room”, “Kidnapped”, “The Greenhouse”, “Harmon”, “Echo”, “Hit and Run”, “Bloody Murray” and “The Dream Owner”; as well as in many theater performances at home Lisin, including “Real Estate”, “Mountain Doesn’t Move”, “The Disabled”, “Love of Death”, “Double Panther” and “Welcome to Hell”.
“Beit Lisin for me is a home,” he says. “I feel at home there and connected to the people there and what they do there. Beit Lisin has always been associated with original productions, and in my eyes, putting on an original play is the most difficult job for an actor, but also the most satisfying.”
“To be a part of a new work and to see this thing meet an audience for the first time – is tremendous. To my delight, Tzipi (Fines, CEO and artistic director – Hal) emphasizes original plays and even encourages young playwrights, and she deserves all the credit for that. I am happy that I took part in several Israeli plays that left a mark and will undoubtedly enter the Israeli classics.”
Why do you often choose to act in comedies on stage?
“Comedy is also a kind of celebration on stage – it’s fun to play it and you can’t play comedy without having a lot of fun. In the play ‘Welcome to Hell’ for example, where I play alongside Avi Kushnir, we go on stage, and from the first laugh a celebration begins. There is a kind of dialogue Between us and the audience, and we play between the laughs and the punches. To see and hear the audience laughing wholeheartedly is the most amazing feeling in the world. It always amazes and moves me. There is something healing in laughter, and it’s not just a cliché. As soon as she wins the lottery, the character played by Kushnir has a seizure Lev and goes to hell, to meet the devil. That in itself is a brilliant basis for a crazy comedy, and really this hell is heaven for an audience that doesn’t stop laughing.”
Director Roni Pinkowitz, who ended his life by euthanasia in Switzerland in December 2020 due to the multiple sclerosis he suffered from, was the one who brought Toledano to the Haifa Theater and later to the Beit Lissin Theater. “My relationship with Roni started back at ‘Beit Zvi,'” he says. “He directed me in my last year of studies in a play called ‘Metamorphosis’ by Franz Kafka. He was the one who recommended that I audition in Haifa back in the days of Oded Kotler, and when he started managing There the theater, our relationship got closer and closer. Later he took me to ‘Lost in Yonkers,’ which he directed at the Lysin House. The rest is history.
We had amazing chemistry and a very special bond. It was hard for me to digest his very brave decision to end his life following the deterioration of the disease. After his death, I got to play in the play ‘Contact’, which he wrote about his life, in the role he designated for himself. I feel that this show was my personal farewell to him.”
How do you feel about television versus theater?
“Television and cinema are fun, but something else. It’s clear to me that my foundation and the main thing in my career is in the interpretation of the theater, it’s my bread and butter.”
What was it like to meet Yair Lapid on the set of “War Room”, which he wrote?
“He was not a partner in the photography, but he visited the set a lot because he was interested and cared to see the making process, he was charming throughout the process. It turned out that right before the elections I found an old photo of the entire cast from the series, including Roni who played there with me.”
How did you deal with the Corona period?
“At first I was very afraid that the theater was closing. For the first two months I was in a panic of ‘what will happen?’ And ‘what do I do with myself if I don’t play?’. I’m not the type of person who was used to sitting at home. I used to go on stage 20-25 times a month. Along with that, after a certain time it became clear that this break did me good. I realized that I’m fine, I won’t starve, and it’s not the end of the world.”
“I began to enjoy this stop because I realized that I was in a crazy race to do more and more. It doesn’t matter that I returned to it after the closures were lifted, but there was something good about stopping after many years on the side of the road, observing life, where I am and where I want to go.”
Blows the shofar
In the play “Double Panther” Toledano stepped into the shoes of Yaakov Elbaz, one of the leaders of the “Black Panthers” protest movement. “The Black Panthers is our own Israeli story, the protest that was here,” he says. “As a story, it has everything: tension, romance, protest and passion. It was fascinating to sit and learn about it before rehearsals began and to understand the events and the period. I felt like the voice of those people on stage, like their messenger, because yes there was discrimination here, and someone had to to tell this story.”
“I felt that I was blowing their shofar, telling their story. Many people who saw the show told me that in an hour and a half of the show they received material from several years of study. In my eyes, this is the success of an original theater, which raises questions and stories from within. This is exactly the image that the theater should present for the society we live in. There is nothing like telling a true and good story of our own.”
In that show, he played alongside his friend, the actor Niso Kapbia. “A very dear friend of mine from the neighborhood in Tiberias tried to this day,” he says. “We met in the same drama class in Tiberias and together with Shai Lahav from ‘Dr. Kasper’s Rabbit Show’ we were such a trio. The first time we really played against each other was in ‘Double Panther’, and we are always happy to meet or work together.”
Personally, have you experienced discrimination because of your oriental origin?
“I know there were people who suffered severe discrimination, but when I grew up in Tiberias in the 1980s, there was everything from everything and from every sect, and no one made a difference about sectarianism and origin. I personally was not aware that there were Mizrahim and there were Ashkenazim. When I was in school, the feeling was that we were all Teverein, so it didn’t matter if your last name was Amzlag or Neuman. No one noticed it. Everyone would stay at everyone’s place. Even later, at the acting school, I didn’t feel that being Mizrahi prevented me from advancing or getting roles.”
In 2011, Toledano’s wife, the actress Anli Harpaz, passed away at the age of only 38, after a battle with cancer. His voice breaks when he talks about her. “Infinite words were written about it and so much was said about it, probably around that time,” he says. “Over the years this has become my personal, family and private story, that of our sons and the immediate family. There is nothing to be done, life goes on, but of course Anli will always live in our hearts and thoughts and will stay with us forever.”
How do you feel about the situation in the country today?
“The older I get, the more anxious I am for the country, and it doesn’t matter who is sitting on top, the left or the right. After the results of the last election, I really hope it will be good. I have two sons: the eldest is 18 and the youngest is 16. The eldest enlists in less than a month, and this It bothers me to the point of keeping sleep out of my eyes. I have no say in these matters, I just hope that we are entering a better period. Or at least it won’t be worse. I wish us to enter a quiet and good period.”