For the first time at Gesher Theatre, a co-production with the Theatre Royal Haymarket, from the West End.
The premiere took place as part of Jaffa Fest 2024. The play is performed in English with subtitles in Russian and Hebrew.
Maxim Didenko, one of the leading Russian (in the past), and now European, directors, will make his debut in Israel.
Time: first century AD
Place: here.
“She went out and said to her mother, ‘What shall I ask?’ And she said, ’The head of John the Baptist!’ Immediately she came with haste to the king and asked, saying, ‘I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.’”
(Mark 6:24-25)
Who is she, this mysterious Salome, who for centuries captured the hearts and minds of outstanding artists, writers, composers?
A little, naive girl who accidentally became history’s plaything? A teenager, protesting the vulgarity and hypocrisy of the world around her? A bloodthirsty seductress with a lust for power?
Salome, the Jewish princess, an enigma that spawned an entire tradition in the European artistic culture, continues to thrill and capture the minds of our contemporaries.
In a nutshell, the story is simple –
King Herod Antipas marries his daughter-in-law Herodias, which is unacceptable in Judaism, and therefore ignited the wrath of John the Baptist. To silence John, Herod throws him into prison. His wife is not satisfied with this and asks him to kill the insolent man. Soon Herodias had a very convenient opportunity. Herod Antipas was celebrating his birthday at the fortress of Macheron. Many guests, “the high officers, and the chief men of Galilee” (Mark 6:21) were invited to the celebration. Salome was among them, she attracted everyone’s attention with her appearance and bold manners. Herodias sends her daughter Salome to seduce Herod with “the dance of the seven veils”. Herod is ready to fulfill her every request. On her mother’s advice, Salome asks for the head of John the Baptist on a silver platter…
Oscar Wilde’s play, which caused a scandal in the XIX century, has become a worldwide cultural classic. Richard Strauss’s opera is still heard around the world and has drawn the attention of outstanding directors from Castellucci to Chernyakov.
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