[NEohioPAL] Berko review: NOT BE BREAD ALONE @ Ohio Theatre of PlayhouseSquare

Roy Berko royberko at gmail.com
Thu Mar 20 17:23:26 PDT 2014


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 *Deaf and blind Israeli performers fascinate audience at the Palace*



Roy Berko



(Member, American Theatre Critics Association, Cleveland Critics Circle)



If one of the major purposes of theater is to make members of the audience
feel and view things in a different light, then "Not By Bread Alone" has to
be an unquestionable success.  The "play" explores the hopes, dreams and
memories of a group of men and women.  It also explores their isolation,
frustrations and loneliness.



At the start of the adventure, the audience views a group of men and women,
in chef's hats and aprons, knead, shape and place dough onto baking sheets.
Viewing these "bakers," it quickly becomes obvious that they are not
looking at the dough or speaking to each other.  What's wrong with this
picture?



The members of the cast are members of the acting company of Israel's
Nalaga'at Theater.  They are all deaf and blind.  They are, as one member
of the company states, "a whole company of Helen Kellers."



The company was founded in 2007 and is now housed in their own performance
space, which also has a restaurant connected to it, which is operated by
the cast and similarly afflicted people.  The complex is situated in a
center in Jaffa, next to Tel Aviv.



"Nalaga'at" means "please touch" in Hebrew.  It is therefore not surprising
that the company's second show is entitled "Not By Bread Alone," as the
actions and contact feed the souls of both the performers and audience
alike.



During the performance the bread actually baked and the smell permeated the
Ohio Theatre during the 75-minute performance.  Following the last "line,"
the audience was invited up on the stage to taste the "lechem," (the Hebrew
word for bread) and interact with the cast with the assistance of
interpreters.



As the play starts, each of the 11 actors is wearing a featureless mask.  As
the first scene unfolds, each, with the unobtrusive aid of a
helper/interpreter, removes his/her mask as their story and identity is
revealed.  As the flow of ideas continues, we learn the hopes, dreams, and
frustrations of being born, or becoming deaf and blind.  In reality, only
three can speak, mainly in Hebrew or Russian.  Most are carriers of Usher
Syndrome, an inherited disorder which usually causes blindness and
accompanying deafness.  Several are related to each other.



Each, in their tales, report the importance of interaction and a desire for
human connection and the need to communicate.  They have learned to do so
through learning Russian and Hebrew sign language, touch-signing, glove
language (each joint on the hand symbolizes a letter and is typed by one
person on the hand of another), and Braille.  Several wear hearing aids
which helps them distinguish sounds.



The sound of a drum beat occasionally is heard.  This is a cue that
announces the start of a new scene.  The actors feel the vibration and are
aware of the need to transition to the next experience.



Those expecting the actors to present a plot driven show, like those
presented by the  now defunct Cleveland Signstage Theatre (also known as
Fairmount Theater of the Deaf), may be disappointed.



In reality what is performed are a series of what some might perceive to be
awkward vignettes.  There is a wedding, a visit to a hairdresser, a trip to
Italy which includes "seeing" the Pope, and some Laurel and Hardy slapstick
routines.  Hokey, yes, but they are acting out the "bucket list" wishes of
the cast and are performing within the limits of their physical
restrictions.




*CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: "NOT BY BREAD ALONE" is everything good theatre should
be....a thought- provoking, experience-broadening, emotionally inspiring
experience that should open the eyes and hearts of the viewer.  Mazel tov
to Adina Tai and the Nalaga'at Deaf-Blind Theater Ensemble of Israel. *


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