Slow motion in fast times

The slow-moving pedestrians, graduates of Tel Aviv's Theater of the Body give the impression that they are struggling against a strong wind.

body 88 (photo credit: )
body 88
(photo credit: )
If you're walking down Tel Aviv's Rothschild Boulevard on a sunny Friday afternoon and encounter a group of seven slow-moving pedestrians who look as if they are battling the wind, fear not. You're not going crazy - you just happened on a street performance by the Zaza group. Comprised of graduates of Tel Aviv's Theater of the Body, Zaza offers a 45-minute performance that slowly progresses along a pedestrian pathway. The actors give the impression that they are struggling against a strong wind, complete with neckties specially crafted to look like they're blowing in the "wind" (the actors also carry the prerequisite inside-out umbrella, of course). Battling the wind is just the framework of the show, a version of which has also been performed at Tel Aviv's Tzavta Theater. As the group moves along, it stops to stage short vignettes - a struggle between the sexes to arrive at the front of a line, a quickie bar mitzva or wedding, and numerous performances of mundane acts done in the face of an imaginary natural force. Zaza has two shows scheduled for the start of July. The first, on Monday, July 3, will be part of Festival Beshekel's Jerusalem show in the Armon Hanatsiv neighborhood, which begins at 5 p.m. On Friday, July 7, Zaza will slowly make its way up Tel Aviv's beachfront promenade, starting from Gordon Beach at 4 p.m. For more information, visit www.zazagroup.co.il.