Two Plays by Jewish Women
“The Survivor,” a play by Susan Nanus, had its first life ten years ago as a Broadway production focusing on the life of a young man who managed to survive the Holocaust. Rewritten by Nanus, and directed by her sister Sasha Nanus, the play now tells the story, very movingly, of a group of teenagers in the Wareaw Ghetto, including girls and young women, who fight to resist the Nazis. The play is now playing off- Broadway, to audiences of adults and Jewish schoolchildren, and is available for booking in other locations after its New York run.
For information contact: Richard Komberg
1350 Avenue of the Americas, Suite 2703
New York City, NY 10019 (212) 582-9456
Here, in outline, is the story of “Naomi,” a remarkable one-woman play from Israel. Naomi is a young Bedouin woman who is forced to many a complete stranger. He rapes her on their wedding night and three days later her mother and sister hold her down while she undergoes Tohar el Banat in which her clitoris is removed using a razor blade. She escapes the family tent and eventually becomes a student at a modem Israeli university where she realizes that she is trapped between two worlds.
After seven years of research among the Negev Bedouin, Israeli social worker- Ruby Porat-Shuval, wrote this play, winner of the 1992 Acre Theater-Festival. It has been performed over 300 times in Israel and the author/actress is now available for bookings of “Naomi,” in English, for the U.S. and Canadian audiences in 1994. The audience sits on pillows and is sensed traditional coffee and pita in Naomi’s tent while she tells her tale.
The play is powerful on many levels, for it is not only the shocking reality of one Bedouin women’s life, it is a metaphor for the oppression all women endure. Along with the gruesome pain, Porat-Shuval is also able to celebrate the humor and joy of one women’s life. Despite the cultural gap between the Israeli actress and her creation, she explains,. “If I peel back all the layers, she is me.” For more information: Renee Schreiber-Assistant to the Consul for Cultural Affairs Consulate General of Israel 800 Second Avenue NYC, NY 10017
