THEATER and THEOLOGY

 

The ISRA-DRAMA team, backed by the Ministry of Culture and others, chooses up to 15 productions each year for exposure to international creative directors and producers for their annual Israeli theater showcase: https://exposure.dramaisrael.org/. We are thrilled that they picked Shards of Laughter for this year's International Exposure Festival lineup.

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So, after a hugely successful run in April and July, 2026, Shards of Laughter, created and conceived by Gabriella Lev, with direction consulting by Yael Valier, will play again in Jerusalem, at Beit Mazia, 18 Mesilat Yesharim, on November 15, at 17:30.

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"I would definitely see this show again."  ~Yael Unterman, Jerusalem Post review.

For the whole review, click on this excerpt:

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In Shards, Gabi Lev, a master performer and storyteller, pieces together her family's Holocaust history from the fragmented stories and mysterious references she heard as a child and explored as an adult. The result is at once a deeply personal portrait of her family's struggle, and a microcosm of the European Jewish experience during the Shoah. Told with honesty, artistry, and, sometimes, defiant humor as an act of faith, Shards leaves its impression in the intellect and in the spirit.  

 

​​​​​On the personal front and on the national one, this show, to me, is part of the answer of how to orient ourselves toward evil, to live it, and certainly not to try to erase it as “no longer relevant,” but also to seek and acknowledge the good, noble, and even funny, and to give these things their place. It’s a difficult balancing act.​
 

I don’t produce Holocaust shows as a rule. I did it this time because of the stripped simplicity and piercing relevance of the story and format, because Gabriella Lev is a masterful and enthralling storyteller, and because Gabi's ability to connect directly with members of the audience moves me.

    ~Yael Valier, Creative Director, Theater and Theology
 

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Gabriella Lev is founding artistic director of Theatre Company Jerusalem, one of Israel's most distinctive theatre companies. She is a recipient of the Kipod Hazahav Award for Lifetime Achievement, and the Jerusalem Award for Unique Contribution to Cultural Life. Gabi, raised in Australia, usually directs and performs in Hebrew. Shards provides a rare opportunity for English-speakers to experience her magic on stage.