During last summer’s Gaza war, when hundreds of Palestinian children were being killed by Israeli bombs every week, an Israeli show was removed from the bill of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival thanks to enormous public pressure for a boycott. The Fringe was supposed to be the grand unveiling of the English version of this Hebrew production, and its breakout onto the international stage.

The City is a “hip-hop opera,” described as “Humphrey Bogart meets Jay-Z.” It’s a tongue-in-cheek, old-school detective story told masterfully through musical numbers, raps, and rhymes. The five cast members move dynamically from singing to rapping to playing instruments and different characters, while bombarding the audience with jokes, puns, and sharp cultural references.

Last week, TLV1’s Laragh Widdess attended a special performance of the show, an Incubator Theatre production, at Tel Aviv’s Tzavta theater. It was a kind of re-launch of the English version ahead of a tour of Georgia in September. Laragh met members of the cast to find out how they’ve coped with obstacles like political boycotts, translating Israeli cultural references into universal ones, and rapping (sometimes very fast) in a second language.

Music:
Clips of “The City” in English and Hebrew (live performances, trailer)
Mase – Feel So Good

Written and produced by Laragh Widdess