The director, Amos Gitai will première a production in Spain that uses the Jewish myth of the golem to address the suffering of those who are persecuted and the cycles of violence, on 5, 6 and 7 March in the Sala Roja Concha Velasco at Teatros del Canal. The performance is in French, Yiddish, German, English, Arabic, Spanish, Hebrew, Ladino and Russian with Spanish subtitles.
Following on from his production of House, the Israeli film-maker and stage creator is returning to Teatros del Canal with a production that revisits one of the most emblematic figures of the Kabbalistic tradition to reflect on the persecution and fragility of minorities in today's world.
The show is based on a children's story by Isaac Bashevis Singer, who dedicated his tale to those who are persecuted and oppressed worldwide, and it is intertwined with texts by Joseph Roth, Lamed Shapiro and biographical fragments from the performers themselves. The result is a multidisciplinary show that overlaps myth and the present to explore the eternal tension between creation and destruction.
On stage, Gitai creates a sensory mosaic where personal stories, diverse languages, live music and testimonies come together, putting a face to the situation of those who have been displaced due to conflict, intolerance or arbitrary political decisions. The figure of golem, the clay creature created to protect the Jewish people in times of danger, becomes a universal symbol of resistance, but also a warning about the risks of power and the blurred line between salvation and violence. Therefore, through a cosmopolitan company of actors and musicians, the show provides a contemporary interpretation of the Jewish cultural heritage and projects it onto urgent debates in society.
Born in 1950 in Haifa (Israel), Amos Gitai is a renowned Israeli director whose work is characterised by his critical and humanistic approach to the social and political conflicts in the Middle East. Having initially studied architecture, he began film-making during the Yom Kippur War, which profoundly marked his artistic sensibility. Throughout his career, he has directed more than 90 productions, including fiction films, documentaries, theatre performances and installations, and is often seen at festivals, such as Cannes and Venice.
Artistic File:
Venue: Teatros del Canal - Sala Roja Concha Velasco
- Text - Amos Gitai and Marie-José Sanselme
- Director - Amos Gitai
- Cast - Bahira Ablassi, Irène Jacob, Micha Lescot, Laurent Naouri, Menashe Noy, Minas Qarawany and Anne-Laure Ségla
- Musicians - Alexey Kochetkov (violin and synthesisers), Kioomars Musayyebi (santur) and Florian Pichlbauer (piano)
- Singers - Dima Bawab, Zoé Fouray, Sophie Leleu (vocals and harp) and Marie Picaut
- Research - Rivka Markovitski Gitai
- Assistant Director - Céline Bodis
- Lighting - Jean Kalman, assisted by Juliette de Charnacé
- Sound - Éric Neveux
- Stage Design - Amos Gitai assisted by Sara Arneberg Gitai
- Hair and Make-up - Cécile Kretschmar assisted by Jean Ritz
- Wardrobe - Fanny Brouste, assisted by Isabelle Flosi
- Patina for the wardrobe - Emmanuelle Sanvoisin
- Video - Laurent Truchot
- Musical Adviser and Choir Director - Richard Wilberforce
- Preparation and Operation of Subtitles - Katharina Bader
- Yiddish Adviser and Trainer - Shahar Fineberg
- Construction of props, wardrobe and stage design- La Colline
- Production - La Colline – National Theatre
- Acknowledgements - Kelly Claudette, Nadia Déhan-Rotschild, Céleste Girot, Théâtre du Châtelet, Yitskhov Niborski and Cécile Trémolières
- Representative in Spain - Pilar de Yzaguirre and Ysarca Arts Promotion
Approximate Duration: 2 hour 15 minutes (without an interval)
Languages: French, Yiddish, German, English, Arabic, Spanish, Hebrew, Ladino and Russian with Spanish subtitles
