Hanoch Levin's "Grief Without End" plays for the first time on stage • The director is Ari Pullman ("Waltz with Bashir"), who is directing the theater for the first time, and in the lead role: Maurice Cohen ("Our Father"), who has not done theater for five years

• Maurice Cohen in "Endless Grief"

  Photo:

  Coco

One of the intriguing productions of the Israeli theater will be staged on January 17 at the Cameri Theater: a world premiere of Hanoch Levin's play that has never surpassed the stage (called "Grief Without End") directed by award-winning filmmaker Ari Pullman.

The plot takes place in the nursery at the King's Palace. The king loses his son from an illness, and a number of doctors, counselors and experts on their own are called to save the situation. The role of the King is played by actor Maurice Cohen, and alongside him are Yoav Levy, Mia Landsman, David Shaul, Eran Moore, Tal Weiss, Shoham Scheiner, David Bilanka, Uri Ravitz, Eran Sharel, Yossi Segal, Yossi Kanz and a host of dancers. The decor is responsible for illustrator David Polonsky, who has worked with Pullman in all his works in film, most notably the film "Waltz with Bashir", which was nominated for an Oscar. Actress Efrat Ben Tzur is responsible for the musical production and singing.

Maurice Cohen (43), who won the Ophir Award for his role in the film "Our Father" and played in series like "Double" and "Missing Case", has not played in the theater for the last five years, but when the offer of "Grieving Miserable" came to an end - he did not hesitate for a moment. "I received a great gift," Cohen says. "Ari turned to me and offered me to audition. We didn't work together in the cinema, but I always wanted to."

The old man is real, as the director demands. Maurice Cohen // Photo: Coco

For the job, Cohen grew an old man, similar to the old man in which Pullman is boasting. "Directors always put in their alter ego," Cohen laughs, "we are constantly told that we are alike." He said Pullman asked him to raise the beard. "Ari still doesn't understand that theater thing, that you can catch a beard. He hates it and I can understand it. In the world of cinema, when you see a beard glued - the reliability runs out."

According to Cohen, "This is my first time playing a play by Hanoch Levin. After I finished acting, I played in the Chamber, but after five years I left. Then I played at the Be'er Sheva Theater and the Haifa Theater, but for the last five years I have not done a theater. Me on the levels. It's putting my insides on stage. Every repetition and every run is like a kind of therapy. It's a role full of emotion and power. I allow myself to connect to the deep and dark emotional places. "

Cohen also says that "theater and cinema are very different. When I came to rehearsals - I didn't speak theater, I spoke TV. It's a different language. The fact that Ari is directing elements into the film world. It excites me."

"Feeling at home." Director Ari Pullman // Photo: Coco

For Pullman, this is his first time directing in the theater. "I feel very at home here," he says. "I'm a director. I'm just dealing with the essence. It's true that I have the stage limitations and I can't take a camera and show the horizon, but in the end I kind of do the same thing. I work with actors, think at the Misescene level."

According to him, "Morris brings to the show three things that this king was bound to have: strength, weakness and vulnerability. These are three qualities that Morris has in life. These are not acquired traits, so I chose him. When I was in the midst of the play, I walked down the street and saw it - and fell bingo. He didn't know it yet. When he came to read - I knew it was him. "

2010-2019 | Summarize a decade in culture:

• Revolution: The crazy decade of Omar Adam

• It's me: Eyal Golan's crazy decade

• Herzl: The videos that made the decade

• The 10 trends that changed the show biz

• TV: The 25 Greatest Characters of the Decade

• Decade TV shows of the decade

• Decade albums of "Israel Today" writings

• The Beige Age: The Greatest Series of the Decade

• The great love stories of the decade

• Examine yourself: What didn't happen?

• The 20 Greatest Movies of the Decade

• All culture, gossip and entertainment - now on Instagram!