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Once again I am making the exception of recommending an event outside of my main focus: Tlv, but once again you can be certain that if I am writing about it, it’s worth a visit!!!

Ok, so we are talking Bat Yam, a city right out of Tlv (less than 10 min. drive) and this city which, no offense, is not the cultural metropolis of the world, is making quite the effort to improve. For the twelfth year now, Bat Yam has been hosting the International Street Theatre Festival, this is the only festival in Israel exclusively devoted to street events and to local and international street theater.

This is one fun place to be, first of all it’s right near the beach (on the Bat Yam promenade), secondly everything is free (kind of nice to get some culture for free in this country…) and mainly, and I have to admit surprisingly, the shows are not half bad… and I think they are definitely improving over the years. The framework of the festival is divided into 2 competitions: local and international shows, and in between you can catch some cool music and dance shows which are mostly local Bat Yam creations…

Since the shows change every year and the festival is starting today (and I am not connected enough to get a sneak preview), I can only really recommend going to watch a show called “Crucifixion“. This is an english play from the middle ages which gives the viewer a look into the hardships facingthe Roman soldiers who were ordered to crucify Jesus. This odd but most interesting situation brings out some unusual emotions presented extremely well by the actors. The “Way of the Cross” will pass through the boardwalk and at the end the crucifixion will take place for all to see.

I saw the show as part of the a final project of the department of Theatre Arts at Tel Aviv University, and a good friend of main is the director, so I’m a little biased, but I think it is really good. Actually I think that the whole concept of street theatre is genius since it allows you to observe the cultural feel you get when you go to see a play in an actual theatre, but it’s much more easy going, casual and it’s outside! Just perfect!

For a full schedule check out the festivals website (http://batyamfest.co.il/zope/home/en/2008/) - finally a normal website in English with most of the necessary info and a even a full map of the shows

The Bat Yam International Street Theatre Festival, all over the Bat Yam promenade, 26-28/8/2008, starting from 19:00.