Relocation Experience: Russian Artists in Tel Aviv

• In Event: New Perspectives on Russian Theater and Performing Arts III: Liberation and Displacement: Russian Actors, Directors, Musicians, Theatre and Film Critics in Exile II

Abstract

The paper delves into the character and distinctive aspects of the relocation of
numerous theatre artists from Russia to Israel amid the Russian-Ukrainian war, with
a specific focus on the independent theatre, Fulcro. This company was created by a
group of graduates of the Russian Institute of Theater Arts in St. Petersburg, who
received the prestigious Golden Sofit award for their first production ("Our Class",
2019). Very soon it was considered one of the coolest independent theaters in the
city. In February 2022 the company ceased to exist, and almost its entire staff
repatriated to Tel Aviv where, despite all the difficulties, the theater has continued
its work developing the genre of political cabaret, and so far has produced four
performances per season. One of them was awarded the main prize of the Israeli
alternative scene. In fact, Fulcro enjoys not only a large Russian-speaking audience,
but also Israeli connoisseurs of theater and performance.
The talk will touch on the issues of artistic migration and artistic community, the
multilingual stage, and intercultural and cross-cultural matters, based on field
research, interviews, and performance analysis.
An important aspect of the proposed discussion is also the examination of the
current wave of artistic migration in a historical context, taking in consideration the
previous waves, namely the renowned Habima migrations in the late 1920s and the
migration of the Gesher theatre in the 1990s.

Author

• Olga Levitan, Hebrew U of Jerusalem (Israel)