Haifa fest features Schalit play

Twentieth International Children’s Theater Festival to feature local, int'l productions.

By HELEN KAYE
Gilad Schalit is enduring his fourth year of Hamas captivity in Gaza. At the International Children’s Theater Festival in Haifa one of the six plays in the competition is based on his story about a shark, a fish and the idea that friendship is more important than prejudice.
The festival, this year celebrating its 20th anniversary, runs from March 31 to April 2 during Hol Hamoed Pessah, in and around the Haifa Theater.
The play is called When the Fish and the Shark First Met. Other competition plays include: Itzik Weingarten’s Something Wonderful Is Going to Happen, in which a little boy goes hunting for Spring, helped by his bedclothes and a vivid imagination; Shirile Deshe directs Zaza’s Friends, who intend a surprise party for Zaza’s birthday, but somebody has stolen the Magic Book; The World According to Alon tells of what happens when special-needs Alon joins his age-group, and of how much he has to give. There are also 17 guest productions including such beloved classics as Peter Pan, Puss in Boots and Gulliver’s Adventures in Lilliput. Most are for children age 3-10, but Avia’s Summer – the award winning play written and performed by Gila Almagor – is for those 10 and up.
Theater groups from Germany, France and Spain are part of the freeshows on the Haifa Theater plaza. For instance, The DusseldorfChildren’s Theater is coming with Alice in Wonderland and The Moon Egg, a marvelous egg of wonders, and from France, Melba and the Rascals promises fun for the whole family.
There’s a Website: www.haifakids.co.il