THE SEGAL CENTRE
FOR PERFORMING ARTS
in partnership with the City of Montreal
IS PROUD TO PRESENT
THE MONTREAL INTERNATIONAL YIDDISH THEATRE FESTIVAL
THE STATE JEWISH THEATRE OF BUCHAREST, ROMANIA
The Miracle of Yiddish Theatre
We have now entered the fourteenth decade of our existence. Ours is a prestigious history, filled with the most outstanding authors, actors, and performances, as well as countless paradoxical encounters - Avram Goldfaden and Sholem Aleichem together with Balzac and Brecht, Shulamith and Anne Frank, Nathan the Wise and The Golem, The Dybbuk and The Witch.
Formal Yiddish Theatre began in Romania. There, in 1876, artist and writer Avram Goldfaden performed the famous operetta Green Tree with his company to rave reviews and Yiddish and Jewish theatre has played a special role in Romanian culture ever since.
Goldfaden saw in theatre "the Jewish people's future art temple." Our performances join together tragedy, comedy and entertainment, assuming with a wise smile, the biblical or folklore motives of life. According to the traditions of the Jewish theatre and on account of a manifold repertoire, the actors have developed a wide palette of expression - from a metaphoric style to the robust authenticity of traditional comedy and to the refinement of modern theatre. The "golden thread" spun by Avram Goldfaden has been brilliantly assumed and continued through space and time by the Jewish Theatre in Romania.
The credo of our theatre is to keep the flame of Yiddish language alive through its performances. This language cannot disappear; it is waiting for its new speakers, its new audience and lovers of Yiddishkeit.
Harry Eliad
Stage Director and General Manager of the State Jewish Theatre in Bucharest
MIRELE EFROS BY JACOB GORDIN
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 09, 2 PM AND 8 PM
The Yiddish theatre of Romania presents Mirele Efros in tribute to the prolific Yiddish playwright, Jacob Michailovitch Gordin. June 2009 marks the 100th anniversary of Gordon's death.
Inter-generational relations and in-law relations heat up the stage. Mirele Efros may be a classic but it deals with contemporary issues. The question is who will rule the roost, the mother-in-law or the daughter-in-law? Mirele Efros, a wealthy widow vies for control of her business, her home and the love of her son, when the manipulative Shayndele becomes her daughter-in-law. Yosele, unyielding in his love for both mother and wife is caught in the crossfire.
WEDDING AND DIVORCE based on stories by SHOLEM ALEICHEM
TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 09, 8 PM
Wedding and Divorce is a comedy based on a story by Sholem Aleichem. By tradition, weddings in Jewish families were prearranged, but as one can imagine, this did not automatically guarantee luck and harmony in married life. This was especially true, when the mother-in-law, using her influence over her daughter, continuously harasses the son-in-law and the young couple. So who is going to win out in the end: the mother-in-law with her constant intrigues or the love between the two young people? The play is 'seasoned' with songs.