Beersheba Theater on Wednesday announced its 2026-2027 season, blending new Israeli writing with international works and contemporary classics that have succeeded abroad. The lineup includes premieres, revivals, and continuing runs of existing productions.
The season opens next month with "A Big Idea," a French comedy by Sebastian Castro that won the 2023 Molière Prize and two Metterlinck prizes, including best comedy. The adaptation will be translated by Dori Prans and directed by Tamar Keinan, starring Florence Bloch, Michael Moshonov, Yoav Donat, Dana Meinert and Guy Nataf. In November comes "Isabella," a period family drama by the theater’s artistic director Aya Kaplan, based on a novel by Aliza Elrai. Directed by Amir Y. Wolf, it is set in Jerusalem in the summer of 1955 and follows a woman who leaves her husband, returns with her daughter to her mother’s home in Lifta, and secretly conducts an affair with an English businessman.
In December the theater will stage "My Heart, Yours," a comedy-drama by Itay Sonntag, whose previous play "I Am Your Grandmother" was successful at Habima. Directed by Ido Rosenberg and led by Doron Ben-David, it follows Yoav and Uriya, a joyful heart transplant recipient, as their relationship deepens and she discovers he hid why he entered her life, including the fact that he is married. The theater will also revive "Tuesdays with Morrie," by Mitch Albom and Jeffrey Hatcher, after an earlier successful run at the Cameri. The new production stars Uri Dov Bluperd and Yoav Heit as Mitch, a sports journalist who reunites with his beloved professor Morrie Schwartz after Morrie is diagnosed with a terminal degenerative disease.
Another original play, "Nerves," by Gil Ari Cohen, centers on 60-year-old sports broadcaster Roni Grutzky, whose career is built on sharp language and on-air outbursts. After he crosses a line during a live broadcast, the station manager gives him an ultimatum, anger-management training or losing his job. Aya Kaplan also wrote and will direct "My Sister’s Guardian," about a young actress found dead in her apartment, her wounded high-tech businessman partner, and a police investigation stalled by conflicting evidence.
Returning productions will include "Reserved Seats" by Eitan Anner, directed by Tamar Keinan, "The Maiden and the Death" by Ariel Dorfman, "Pink Lady" by Aya Kaplan and based on a script by Mindy Ehrlich, "Permitted to Any Person," and "All Life Ahead." CEO Shmulik Yifrah said the season is "a celebration of brave and quality Israeli culture," while Kaplan said the theater aims to remain relevant to Israeli reality and provide a stage for new voices and major international works.
