Review: KING UBU at Tmu-na Theater

In Israel, the theater has become an old people's home. Sorry for the honesty.
Young people, it seems, have long ago abandoned the theater. And the reason is clear- they are afraid.

They are afraid of seeing nothing but the same actors who play in all the theater plays. They are afraid of uninteresting content that fails to distinguish from the last performance they saw. And they are afraid to check what time it is, because hundreds of older faces around them will look at them with face full of contempt.
A good play can make time stand still, keeping you fascinated, and even elevate your spirit as it raises questions inside your head.
A bad play, though, can be a dreadful suffering, leaving you with just one wish - that it will finish already!!!
Luckily, despite the almost total control of the repertory theater for viewers of the State in Israel, a rare point of light occasionally shines through. KING UBU in Tmu-na Theater is absolutely one of those.

King Ubu is a play by Alfred Jarry. The play is wildly bizarre and comic, significant for the way it overturns cultural rules, social norms and conventions.
Or in short - what may be the first perfect merger of modern surrealism and the theater of the absurd.

The play tells the story of the father, Ubu, a commander in the Dragons, who is convinced by his wife, Mother Ubu, to murder the King of Poland and take over the kingdom. Enter Captain Tinofet and the servant Karkashta. With their help, the king will be murdered, and Ubu will rule the kingdom.
From here we witness the results of the rise of two animalistic, childish and power-hungry types.

The directors, Shmuel Wolf and Dovrat Asulin, did a great job, turning the stage into a crazy punk rock court where evil prevails. Their visual methods, on which I will not expand for fear of introducing a spoiler, are quite charming and beautiful. There is no doubt that Shmuel Wolf and Dovrat Asulin have worked hard to translate this complex play into a new and fascinating angle.

The director's work with the actors was inspiring: it made me want to go up on the stage, undress, paint my nipple in black, and spit and swear, too. This is one of the things that distinguishes this play from so many others: this troupe of amazing actors makes the audience drift into it, disconnecting from everything else, with their focus on the show until they feel one with it.

I must mention the excellent play of Nur Fibak and Eylon A. Crotch, the Ubues. They offer a fascinating, powerful glimpse into the mindsets of a pair who truly do not understand what is wrong with their corrupt and beastly behavior.

In conclusion, there is good theater in Israel - theater that does not compromise, theater that is not afraid, and theater that might bring young people back into it.
MY RECOMMENDATION: CHECK NOW FOR THE NEXT SHOWTIME, AND RUN TO BUY A TICKET. IT IS AMAZING!

Photo Credit: Oleg Fstafive
For tickets and further information, visit Tmu-na Theater.

To post a comment, you must register and login.