A small group of theater patrons gathered at the Alpha Theater on Saturday evening to watch Edward Albee’s The Zoo Story performed by Nehad Rada and Amjad Bader in Arabic, with Hebrew subtitles (translated by the US-born Hebrew poet T. Carmi). This was a rare opportunity to enjoy a performance hailing all the way from Majdal Shams’a Hadaba Theater in the Golan Heights.
Named “The Sub-Standard Festival” by its founder, emeritus theater professor Avraham Oz, the roughly one-month-long series of performances celebrates independent theater-makers. The sub-standard in the name is an ironic reference to the various official standards a theater production must meet in order to qualify for state grants, of which there are very few (the festival is currently supported by the municipality of Tel Aviv and the Culture Ministry).
What will be performed at the Sub-Standard Festival?
On Friday, August 25, a unique staging of various works by Meir Ariel will be shown for the first time (A Vision for Israel, Hebrew only). And on Thursday, August 31, an Arabic language production (with Hebrew titles) of Athol Fugard’s play Valley Song will take to the stage. Famous South African playwright Fugard explores what happens to a post-apartheid society.
Oz, a Shakespeare expert, will be among those performing a staged reading of Julius Caesar in English, Arabic, and Hebrew (Sunday, September 3, at 1 p.m.). Oz’s own historical play, Pipes, will offer patrons a new look into the life and murder of Jacob Israel de Haan (Friday, September 1, at 9 p.m.; Hebrew only).
Haan was a Dutch-Jewish anti-Zionist activist and his 1924 murder was one of the first political killings to shape the history of the Jewish State. The play is part of a body of theatrical works penned by Oz, who deals with mainly unknown aspects of Israeli history. His previous play shown at Alpha Theater was Har Tiferet (“Glory Mountain”) based on the life of Rishon Lezion founder Joseph Feinberg.
The small space offers a highly personal and intimate opportunity to meet the actors and directors before they go on stage, share a beer, and engage in conversation. Oz sells tickets at the entrance, introduces the performance, and takes calls from patrons who report traffic jams or wonder about the best way to reach the space in light of the ongoing protests.
“The theater is a medium which is over 2,000 years old,” Meir Ben Simon, artistic director of the festival, told The Jerusalem Post, “sometimes people try to stick an obituary ad on it, yet, the theater goes on living.”
Alpha Theater is at 13 Beit Alpha St., Tel Aviv. Book tickets and ask about more performances via 050-7220783. Ticket prices vary. The Sub-Standard Festival will continue until Thursday, September 14.
