Puppets to descend upon Jerusalem for annual festival

Serious and silly, the marionettes and their masters will perform for four days in August

By Jessica Steinberg

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31 July 2019, 1:14 am

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Jessica Steinberg, The Times of Israel's culture and lifestyles editor, covers the Sabra scene from south to north and back to the center

Jerusalem’s annual Puppet Festival kicks off Sunday, August 18 through August 22 at the city’s Liberty Bell Park theater, and at several other locations throughout the city.

This year’s performances includes original puppet theater from Israel and abroad, including puppeteers visiting from Germany, Lithuania, Belgium and The Netherlands.

Performances include “Alef-Bet Legend,” a play based about holy letters of the Torah that have spread their wings and left the books, and “Sounds and Shadows,” by puppet master Patricia O’Donovan with a show about shadows and characters from an album of children’s songs. There will also be “Concert in the Sand,” the story of the first concert of the Tel Aviv Philharmonic that will open in Tzedekiah’s Cave, and a Village of Fairies and Elves set up at the main site of the festival in Liberty Bell Park.

This year’s festival includes puppet performances for adults, including Dutch artist Nick Steur, object theater by artist Ariel Doron, and an encounter between puppet designer Maria Gurevich and director Masha Nemirovskey.

‘Plastic Heroes,’ a puppet theater piece coming to the annual Puppet Festival in Jerusalem, August 18-22, 2019 (Courtesy Yair Meyuhas)

Discounted family tickets are available as well as special tickets for children, Jerusalemite cardholders, students, retirees, soldiers and people with physical disabilities.