The Israel Festival is the largest and most important international arts and cultural festival in the land and has chosen Jerusalem as its eternal home (save for a few scattered events in other cities). The Festival, now in its 49th year, runs for three weeks and features high-end theater, music, and dance performances.
There will be plenty of free night time jazz, taking place almost every night of the festival in the Jerusalem Theatre's foyer, as well as free big band performances at Alrov Mamilla Avenue (for more information about free events click here).
There are programs for the little folks as well, with a number of plays
and stories catering specifically to the playground set (see below for further
details about the Israel Festival program for Children).
The Festival, which runs from May 25 through June 11, takes place at a
number of different Jerusalem locations. For a full run down of Festival
locations, prices and schedule of events, please see the Festival's
official website (in English and in Hebrew): www.israel-festival.org.il.
To purchase tickets online for Israel Festival events click here.
Don't forget to check out major ticketing discounts - up to half off - on the festival's impressive jazz shows, available exclusively to GoJerusalem users.
The rundown of Festival events that are for children and/or family friendly is as follows:
Extravagansa
Fingers Theatre Georgia
Schedule of performances: June 1, 2, 3 at 19:00, June 4 at 14:00, the Jerusalem Theatre's Small Theatre. The show will also be performed in Holon at the Meditheque Theatre, on June 5 and 6th at 17:30.
Director: Beso Kupreishvili
Extravagansa is a unique show that will captivate the whole family. Spectacular dance pieces are conducted entirely by the actors' fingers. Donning flashy costumes, the fingers perform Georgian, Russian and Irish dances as well as hip-hop, can-can, cabaret, Michael Jackson and even hold a fashion show.
Extravagansa is a combination of pure theatre, dance, visual art and entertainment. The performance is conducted without the use of words, yet employs irony, sorrow, passion and deep emotions. Neither realities nor dimensions remain stable for long.
"The aesthetics of this theatre is as strange as the sound of its name. Fingers Theatre is beyond description- one should see it..." Literaturuli Sakartvelo
"While watching Extravaganza you forget that artists of the performance are only hands, not the actors..." Rezonansi
Duration: Approximately 1 hour, without intermission
For children ages seven and up.
Hotel Paradiso
Familie Flöz - Germany
Schedule of Performances: June 8 and 9 at 20:30 in The Jerusalem Theatre's Sherover Hall.
Director: Michael Vogel
Masks: Hajo Schüler, Thomas Rascher
This is Familie Flöz's third performance at the Israel Festival.
Familie Flöz's characters/masks are mute, but nevertheless ignite the imagination and remind the viewer that truth often lies beyond words. The actors are agile and unbelievably quick to switch characters and masks. Hotel Paradiso is a theatrical nightmare infused with dark humor and a dose of melancholy.
"Familie Flöz would be a worthy recipient of the Charlie Chaplin award, if such existed..." Die Welt
"In the absence of spoken word, the lion's share of the plot takes place in the viewer's mind. Yet at the show's end, one could swear that the actors spoke, laughed and cried... A fascinating theatrical experience, carried out with absolute control over the body..." Süddeutsche Zeitung
"A thoroughly enjoyable repertoire of body language and gestures..." Kronen Zeitung
"The audience went berserk... Perfection that borderlines devilry..." Kleine Zeitung
Duration: Approximately 1 hour 30 minutes, without intermission. For children ages seven and up.
Orna's Magic
The Orna Porat Theatre for Children and Youth
Schedule of Performances:
May 29 at 11:30 at Merkaz Shimshon Beit Shmuel
May 30 at 17:30 at the Jerusalem Theatre's Rebecca Crown Auditorium
Playwright: Hagit Rachvi Nikolivsky
Director: Rafi Niv
With: Emanuel Hanun, Meirav Shirom, Guy Adler, Yarden Klain / Doris Nimny, Oded Aherlich, Ronny Hadar, Noa Biron
A special production in honor of the theatre's 40th year: a tribute to the actress, theatre's founder and Israel Prize recipient, Orna Porat. A dramatic tale unfolds, one that deals with the theatre's magic and kids' ability to affect change and make a better and more creative world. The play is based on Orna Porat's fascinating life history.
Orna Porat will receive an honorary award from the Israel Festival.
For children ages five and up.
Duration: Approximately 1 hour, without intermission.
Light Display in the Jerusalem Theatre Outdoor Plaza: For the duration of the festival, there will be a huge and impressive display of lights in the Jerusalem Theatre's outdoor plaza, which will create an amazing visual effects and optical illusions - alluring eye candy for the whole family. The display will be lit up for the first time on the opening night of the festival.
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