Jerusalem’s Khan Theater Unveils Diverse 2024-2025 Season Featuring Shakespeare, Israeli Originals, and Yoram Kaniuk Adaptation

Jerusalem’s Khan Theater announced its 2024-2025 repertoire, showcasing a blend of Israeli original plays, a new adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, and a stage version of Yoram Kaniuk’s novel "Haimo King of Jerusalem." The modern Macbeth, adapted and directed by Ariel N. Wolf with translation by Dori Frens, will premiere in October. This version condenses the play to five actors and portrays Macbeth as an ordinary man, exploring the thin line between him and the audience.

Among the original Israeli works is "Towards a Bride," written by S. Shem Tov and directed by Orian Lifshitz, which centers on a Haredi family confronting sexual abuse and the tension between silence and truth. Lifshitz, who herself survived prolonged childhood abuse, also contributed dramaturgy. Amir Zeloter will debut his play "The Ape," inspired by Franz Kafka’s "Report to an Academy," set in 1930s Berlin and following a Jewish-Polish linguist rejected by academia due to covert antisemitism who encounters a German-speaking chimpanzee.

In June 2027, the theater will stage "The Lehman Brothers" by Stefano Massini, adapted and directed by Gal Zak and Udi Ben Moshe. The historical drama traces the Jewish immigrant Heinrich Lehman’s journey from 1844 to the 2008 collapse of the Lehman Brothers investment bank, a symbol of the global financial crisis.

Actor Udi Rothschild adapted Kaniuk’s "Haimo King of Jerusalem," set during the 1948 siege of Jerusalem in a makeshift hospital, focusing on wounded fighters and staff, with Haimo Perach as a central figure symbolizing the war’s human cost. Another special project, "Blindfold," created with the Nissan Nativ Acting Studio, is an immersive production set in 1930s New York featuring competing magicians and mentalists, inviting audiences to explore multiple storylines freely.

Artistic Director Udi Ben Moshe described the season as a "mosaic" reflecting themes of power, community, and identity through diverse theatrical languages. Khan Theater CEO Yoram Brewerman highlighted the theater’s cultural significance and its extensive community work to strengthen social cohesion, especially in challenging times.