Herzliya embraces Greek tragedy

This tragedy, written in the 5th century BCE, is relevant today, dealing with the moral, national and personal reasons for going to war.

By HELEN KAYE
The Herzliya Theater Ensemble is staging Euripides's Iphigenia at Aulis, the awful tale of a father who sacrifices his beloved daughter to get the winds he needs to take him and his army across the sea to fight the Trojans. It features Gedalia Besser as Agamemnon, Salwa Nakoura as Clytemnestra and Naomi Frumowitz-Pinkas as Iphigenia. This tragedy, written in the 5th century BCE, is eerily relevant today, dealing as it does with the moral, national and personal reasons for going - or not going - to war, and what happens to people when they are swept by war-lust. The director is Professor Yossi Izraeli, locally and internationally renowned for his probing and always-thoughtful productions of the great classics. The play opens at Herzliya Theater Ensemble on January 31. The theater has also announced that the great Peter Brook, who was to have repeated his acclaimed production of Samuel Beckett's Fragments at Herzliya Theater Ensemble, will not be coming because of the political and security situation. Instead, there will be a workshop on a date yet to be announced. Brook, 84, who received the 2005 Dan David Prize for his contribution to theater and culture, has also announced his planned 2011 retirement from the day-to-day running of his own Bouffe du Nord international theater center in Paris after 35 years at its helm.