Showtime: Theater booking

The Orto-Da theater company is launching a new series of literary theatrical encounters.

By BARRY DAVIS
Theater 370 (photo credit: Thinkstock/Imagebank)
Theater 370
(photo credit: Thinkstock/Imagebank)
Theater booking
The Orto-Da theater company is launching a new series of literary theatrical encounters. On Wednesday at 8 p.m., The Little Prince Café (Café Hanasich Hakatan) in Tel Aviv will host musician- writer Yali Sobol, following the release of his new book, Fingers of a Pianist, which is based on life in Tel Aviv after a future war, and literary critic Dr. Arik Glassner, who will talk about how love and war are portrayed in Hebrew and world literature.
The program will be moderated by writer Sarah Blau, and will feature theatrical slots based on excerpts from Sobol’s book, directed by Orto-Da founder Avi Gibson Har-El. The on-stage entertainment will be performed by actors from the Nissan Nativ Acting Studio and will also include a theatrical dance work created by Avigail Rubin and inspired by the writings of Sigmund Freud on man and destruction.
For tickets and more information: (03) 751-1136 or www.orto-da.com
The magic of machines
This week, a fascinating new performance exhibition called “Sharmanka – The Great Magical Machine Show,” opened at the Eretz Israel Museum in Tel Aviv.
Sharmanka is Russian for hurdygurdy, a stringed musical instrument that produces sound by a crank-turned wheel rubbing against the strings, which are manipulated by the fingers of the left hand.
The exhibition features a wide variety of musical mechanical concoctions designed and built by Russian artist and architect Eduard Bersudsky. The display comprises parts of Bersudsky’s Sharmanka Kinetic Theater, which the Russianborn artist built out of carved figures and pieces of old scrap. The mechanical theater performs shows that relate comic and tragic stories of ongoing struggles with mortal dangers, and celebrate the joys of life.
Bersudsky created the theatrical contraption in St. Petersburg (then Leningrad) in 1989 and it has been based in Glasgow since 1996.
“Sharmanka – The Great Magical Machine Show” will be on display at the Eretz Israel Museum until October 8, and shows, which are suitable for children ages four and up, take place daily throughout the day.
For tickets and more information: (03) 641-5244 or www.eretzmuseum.org.il
Gutman’s take on love
The Nahum Gutman Museum in Neveh Tzedek, Tel Aviv will mark the Tu Be’av day of love with theatrical runs through the facility’s exhibitions on Thursday.
The guided tours will be overseen by actors who will bring to life Gutman’s observations of love to life. Various figures from his works will “come to life” as they convey the energies and spirit of different kinds of love, including romance between couples, patriotism, the love of authors for the written word and forbidden love. The tour will take place twice, at 7:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.
For more information: (03) 516- 1970 or www.gutmanmuseum.co.il
Geva’s objective archival display
A new exhibition of works by veteran painter, sculptor and installation creator Tzivi Geva opened this week at the Ashdod Art Museum.
The show is called “Object, Transition” and is the result of protracted dialogue between Geva and curators Yona Fisher and Roni Cohen Binyamini.
The idea for the exhibition was sparked by Geva’s decision to dismantle his south Tel Aviv studio of 15 years and to move the contents to new premises. He utilized this relocation phase to readdress his works and to adopt an archival angle on his creations, taking in aspects that relate practical uses of artistic objects, readymade works, politic elements and items that he had abandoned many years earlier.
“Object, Transition” imbues Geva’s works with new meaning in their new context, and in relation to one and other.
For more information: (08) 854- 5180 or www.ashdodartmuseum.org.il
It’s a kids’ world in Bat Yam
The Luna Park in Bat Yam is offering all sorts of fun activities and shows for children until August 14.
In addition to the regular funfair facilities, Tuvia Tzafir and Moshe Datz will team up on August 7 in their “Tovim Hashnayim” (Better Together) children’s show, which takes in many of the classic children’s stories.
Elsewhere in Bat Yam, throughout the summer, there will be a regular Thursday farmers’ market in Maginim Square as well as street theater, food stalls and music shows.
For more information: (03) 555- 8555 and www.bat-yam.muni.il.