Avant garde & openness

© Goethe-Institut

Obviously people here think of themselves as Avant-garde. Openness is also a part of that. And so in 2010 German contemporary dramas were staged as Israeli productions for the first time. Posters supplied by the event organiser, the local Goethe-Institut, advertised in two languages in an old-fashioned font: Hier herrscht ja gähnende Leere (There’s a gaping void here). As part of the Deutsche Saison- Theaterstunde (German theatre season), Israeli actors acted in Hebrew productions of plays by German authors such as David Gieselmann (Herr Kolpert), Dea Loher (Adam Geist) and Gesine Danckwart (Überall in der Badewanne, wo nicht Wasser ist). Furthermore there were readings of selected texts that they had translated themselves, discussions with Israeli and German directors, critics and academics about the significance of modern theatre in both countries.

© Goethe-Institut

According to official UNO statistics, Israel is one of the top countries when it comes to general interest in theatre. On almost any evening the Tel Aviv public has a choice of around forty productions. However many of these are mainstream. Tmuna deliberately goes against this trend. Further cooperations with the Goethe-Institut are planned.