Jerusalem theater thriving amid a sea of many cultures

JERUSALEM -- Suppose you're being interviewed for the job of artistic director of a theater in Jerusalem. The key question comes almost immediately: "What productions will you plan for the people of this city?"

That's an especially tough question in a place like Jerusalem, home of the Khan Theater. Jerusalem is a confusion of cultures -- the fiercely Orthodox to the devoutly secular, rabid right-wingers to oh-so-liberal leftists, Israelis and Palestinians, immigrants from democracies, autocracies and all shades in between, academe and the barely literate...How can you please them all?

Ofira Henig, artistic director of Jerusalem's Khan Theater for the past four years, had no difficulty with her answer. "In theater, in art, you don't cater to any specific group," she says. "You do what's good and honest. You pose universal questions. You try to give a perspective on reality. And in that way, you bring in audiences and get the best results."

Henig's blueprint clearly works. The Khan Theater near Jerusalem's railway station invariably plays to warm audiences in full houses, and the translated classics and original Israeli plays it stages generally merit critical acclaim.

"We're one place in Jerusalem -- perhaps even the one place in Jerusalem -- where people of many opinions converge to listen and to talk," she says. "We're like the jester in the court of the medieval king, the person who speaks the truth about society and politics and faith."

Henig comes to the Khan from Tel Aviv's Habima National Theater, where she served as resident director for several years. "Most people move in the other direction," she laughs. "They go from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv, and from anywhere to Habima. But I simply felt that I wanted more risk in my work. I wanted something different from established national theater."

The Khan is most definitely different. An early I9th century building on the site of a structure dating to Crusader times, it has housed an inn for pilgrims to the Holy City, a carpenter's workshop, a beer cellar and an ammunitions dump. Threatened with destruction during the Six-Day War of 1967, it survived to be renovated into Jerusalem's only creative repertory theater. The picturesque arches and courtyards remain, with new seating and computerized sound and light systems tactfully added on.

"Jerusalem has other theaters, of course," says Henig, "but they bring in their productions from outside. We create our own." The Khan's "own" shows range from Agnon to Shakespeare, Jean Anouilh to Howard Barker. It puts on four to five new productions a year, including plays without words, original Israeli works, and translated evergreens by Ibsen, Chekhov and Pirandello. All this is built around a core ensemble of 15 actors.

"Before we begin rehearsals for any production, the cast, director, stage designers, composers and playwrights hold a topic-workshop," says Henig. "Although the director's decision is final, we've found that this exchange enhances and deepens our process of creation."

The repertoire is chosen carefully. "I look for plays which are universal in place, and eternal in time," says Henig. "I want them to relate to our lives, to our thoughts and ideas, to our very being. The role of the actor is not to provide answers, but what it most certainly is, is to ask the right questions. About our society, about freedom and tyranny, about justice, how we govern ourselves, the place of women, the role of religion..."

When the Khan's own ensemble is performing outside the city, it turns its stage over to others. Israel's non-professional Ethiopian theater group, Natala, has performed here, as has an Atlanta amateur troupe, which put on an annual performance of "The Mocking Bird." The Khan's stage also sees Palestinian theater, as well as productions in English, French and German.

Also, "We do give particular attention to young audiences, though not in our repertory performances," says Henig. "What we do is hold school theater days, and lectures and workshops for school children. Whenever we can, we bring playwrights and actors to these encounters. The young deserve it. They are the next generation of theater fans."

For all the Khan's claims to serve art rather than the community, it somehow manages to do both.