Top 10 things to do in Jerusalem

November: This week's top 10 attractions in Jerusalem

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Updated: JANUARY 11, 2018 13:39
Murder on the Orient Express (photo credit: PR)
Murder on the Orient Express
(photo credit: PR)
1. FAST TRACK TO MURDER
 Agatha Christie’s famous detective novel Murder on the Orient Express once again graces the big screen. In the new film, famed international detective Hercule Poirot is traveling on the Orient Express. During the journey on the train, an American passenger is murdered, and it is up to the intrepid Poirot to find out who committed the crime.
With Kenneth Branagh, Penelope Cruz, Willem Dafoe, Judi Dench, Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer.
2. SCENARIOS IN THE SAND
The fifth annual open-air Arava Film Festival starts today in the Negev, next to Tzukim, in the Ashush Natural Reserve, midway between the Dead Sea and the Red Sea.
The films represent the best of contemporary cinema from around the world, and some of the actors, directors and producers will be in attendance. The program also includes short films shot in the Arava desert in the past year.
Today through November 18. For information and to order tickets: www.aravaff.co.il
3. DANCING IN THE DARK
The Pilobolus Dance Theatre returns to Israel to present a new production under the title Shadowland, which brings together an equal balance of drama and comedy to explore and push the boundaries of human form. Set to an original score, the piece tells the touching comingof- age story of a young girl as she experiences the world in a surreal manner. Through the use of mixed media, the audience discovers the light that lies even within the darkest of shadows.
Monday through November 18 at the Herzliya Performing Arts Center. For more info: www.pilobolus.org/tour
4. IN GOOD TASTE
For the second year running, restaurants in Jerusalem will open their doors for special events, dinners and workshops as part of the Open Restaurants festival. Chefs, journalists, foodies and experts will give workshops, tours and talks at some 100 unique events. Tour the Israel Museum with celebrity chef Assaf Granit. Watch three Jerusalem chefs – a Christian, a Muslim and a Jew – cook together. Or enjoy live music and snacks aboard the city’s light rail. Some of the talks are free; the rest of the events range from NIS 50 to NIS 300.
Tuesday through November 18. For more info: www.open-restaurants.co.il
5. WEARING IT WELL
Little Black Dress presented by English on Stage is an energetic theatrical performance that celebrates women through fashion and song. The popular production, which premiered in 2015, fuses original comedic acts with unique renditions of hits by iconic female music artists such as Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Adele, Cher, Beyonce, Billie (Thibault Grabherr) (Herschel Gutman) (Yossi Zwecker) (Luke MacGregor) (Tomer Foltyn) (Haim Yafim) Holiday and Celine Dion.
Tuesday, 8:30 p.m., Habima Theater, Tel Aviv. For tickets: http://englishonstage.co.il
6. OO LA LA!
The French comedy film festival Oh La La marks its third year with a hilarious lineup of some of the best French comedic films. Sponsored by the Institut Francais, the festival features more than 18 contemporary comedies, some older classics and short films. Opening the festival is Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano’s Le sens de la fete (pictured).
Thursday through December 5 at the Jerusalem, Haifa, Tel Aviv, Herzliya, Holon and Sderot cinematheques. For more info: www.festival-ohlala.com
7. ART SPACE
On display at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art is “1978,” an exhibition by Zvi Goldstein, winner of the museum’s 2016 Prize for an Established Israeli Artist. The exhibition presents Goldstein’s series Serial Constructions and Anomalies, which can only be viewed through the round windows of two hermetically sealed constructions.
Opens Thursday. For more info: www.tamuseum.org.il
8. WHITE NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM
Jerusalem’s Museum for Islamic Art is hosting a White Night. Highlights include a backgammon tournament; a concert by multicultural roots ensemble Quarter to Africa; performance by rapper Tamer Naffer, who imbues the art form with local Arabic sentiments straight from the ghetto of his hometown of Lod and back into the world; all-night dance party with Jerusalem DJ Bamya. Admission is free.
Thursday. Begins at 8 p.m. until the last dancer is left standing. For more info: www.islamicart.co.il
9. CAVING IN TO MUSIC
Australian singer/songwriter Nick Cave and his band The Bad Seeds return to Israel for the fourth time to perform at the Menora Mivtahim Arena in Tel Aviv.
Known as the “Prince of Darkness,” Cave plays music that is emotionally intense, characterized by influences such as death, religion, love and violence. Cave’s acclaimed 16th album, The Skeleton Tree, is his first since his 15-year-old son Arthur fell off a cliff to his death in 2015.
November 19 and 20 at 9 p.m. For tickets: www.eventim.com
10. IN PARIS WITH LOVE
The Israeli Opera presents its production of La Boheme, the timeless masterpiece by Puccini. Set in Paris of the 1840s, the opera, one of the most popular in the world repertoire, tells the tragic story of young love between poet Rodolfo and seamstress Mimi, who dies of tuberculosis – the curse of the poor at the time.
Conducted by Daniel Oren. Surtitles in English and Hebrew.
November 22 through December 8, Opera House, Tel Aviv.
For tickets: www.israel-opera.co.il (20th Century Fox) (Kai Heimberg)