Trailer for the tour of the Black Theater "Image" from Prague (Mark Zihar)
Narodny Street in Prague is a special street.
It starts at the historic Legion Bridge, which goes over the Vltava river that crosses the city of the dream, and from there it goes up.
More than 30 years ago, this was the street where a student demonstration was violently repressed, which would become one of the defining events of the "Velvet Revolution" that eventually overthrew the communist government in Czechoslovakia.
Today the atmosphere there is much more peaceful, even though history is present there: many tourists can pass by the National Theater building built in the 19th century, or enter the Cafe Louvre, which has been operating since 1902 and boasts historical customers such as the resident Jewish writer Franz Kafka, the scientist Albert Einstein and the writer Karl Chapek, the first to coin the term "robot".
In front of the cafe, right across the road, between two Vietnamese restaurants, lies another permanent stop on the route of many tourists: the hall of the black theater group "Image" - where dancers and mimes perform in an original and joyful style, which has become an urban symbol: they dance in the shadows, confusing the The viewers and the suspense in them, and make them laugh without saying a word through an original pantomime.
Next month you won't have to go as far as Prague to see her: as has happened several times in the past, they will perform no less than 15 shows in Israel in a tour that is expected to last about two weeks, under the title "The Best of The Best of IMAGE".
As you can understand from its name, it includes the collection of the band's most loved pieces, along with some new pieces as well.
A feast for the eyes.
The "Image" show (Photo: Mark Zihar)
First of all, let's start at the beginning.
The black theater is a unique stage genre, based on illusion - on the mirages that dancers and actors can create in the dark, with extensive use of ultraviolet light.
This is a wonder: to look at the stage without being able to understand what is really happening on it, when under the cover of the darkness the figures run, jump and fly.
This style has been established in Prague for the past decades, and several such groups operate and compete in it.
"Image" is one of the most successful of them.
The band's shows consist of two parts that are different in nature but complementary and interwoven.
The main part is black theater in the familiar sense, accompanied by electronic music and non-stop movement.
The second part is based on comedic acting and pantomime segments, extremely simple and incredibly effective.
For example, a complete and entertaining segment of the play we see there - which still has several iterations to go before it reaches the version that will be shown in Israel - depicts a fierce struggle between a man who spends time on the beach and a mosquito.
If so, this is a cheerful and friendly entertainment show, sophisticated but undemanding, that can please adults and young people alike.
The laughter of the child who sat in the hall during the performance, could not be missed.
The group explains that the same formula - the combination of wordless comedy and professional dance - is the secret of the magic that keeps it fresh and relevant.
"Our great advantage is that it is a non-verbal show," says Alexander Tzihar, the director of the theater, in a conversation with journalists from Israel.
"There are many musicals in Prague, bigger productions than us, but their potential can reach ten million people. Our potential is 8 billion - if the situation in the world is normal, and people are not afraid to travel, not afraid to see new things, then Prague is full of tourists" .
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A never-ending illusion.
The show of the "Image" group (Photo: Mark Zihar)
A style that has become one of the symbols of Prague.
The show of the "Image" group (Photo: Mark Zihar)
This is a family business in many ways.
Alongside Tzihar, 74, we also meet his wife Eva Astrova, 67, the artistic director of the group, the main choreographer who also designs the costumes.
The two, born in Prague, met almost a year ago at the conservatory: he was a musician at the time;
She is a professional ballet dancer.
After they got married and gave birth to two children, they decided to establish something of their own at the end of the communist era, which would allow them to express their shared abilities.
This was in the late 1980s.
Some of the performers and workers have accompanied them ever since - and the rest is history.
At the peak of its success, the group put on 582 shows in one year, not including shows abroad, and when it comes to seven different shows running at the same time. Even after more than 33 years, Astrova and Tzihar still run the show closely.
The corona, of course, slowed down the pace.
Rehearsals stopped, the dancers went home, and even after the restrictions were lifted - as we all well remember - it took a while before it was possible to hold cultural shows in front of a significant audience and not just in front of a few dozen people.
The industry, they explain, has not yet recovered since then, and the theater is working hard to return to the capacity of seven performances a week.
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Returning for another round in Israel.
The show of the "Image" group (Photo: Mark Zihar)
everything stays in the family.
The show of the "Image" group (Photo: Mark Zihar)
The spread of the virus also led to the postponement of the band's concert tour, which was supposed to arrive in Israel as early as 2020. Israel is an important stop for the band members, who have already visited here almost ten times.
This tour will begin on March 17 and end on April 1, and will pass through Modi'in-Maccabim-Reot, the Eshkol Regional Council, Herzliya, Beer Sheva, Netanya, Petah Tikva, Karmiel, Haifa, Tel Aviv, Or Akiva, Jerusalem, Kiryat Motzkin and Rishon to note
The length of the shows is about an hour and twenty.
"We want to bring to the Israeli audience the best we have," say the two, "since the end of the 90s we have been coming every year or two. This is the first country we want to go to."
When we ask Tzihar why, at the top of the reasons he declares, as someone with experience and without hesitation: "The audience is perfect."
To purchase tickets
, watch the trailer: https://youtu.be/jMb8l_MVnFA Video credit: marck trzihar
***
The writer was in Prague at the invitation of the production of the show
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