The Acco Festival of Alternative Israeli Theatre (also Acco Fringe Theatre Festival, Israel Fringe Theatre Festival) is a four-day

performing arts The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which are the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. Perform ...

festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...

held annually in the city of

Acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imp ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

during the Intermediate Days of the

Sukkot or ("Booths, Tabernacles") , observedby = Jews, Samaritans, a few Protestant denominations, Messianic Jews, Semitic Neopagans , type = Jewish, Samaritan , begins = 15th day of Tishrei , ends = 21st day of Tishre ...

holiday in early autumn.

History

Founded in 1980, the festival features a competition for original plays that premier during the festival, along with local and foreign theatre productions, street theatre and open-air performances. There are also concerts, arts and crafts workshops, and lectures. The majority of the Festival's plays come from outside the mainstream of establishment Israeli theatre, some having avantgarde characteristics and subjects giving outlet to their creators' personal statements. Some combine media and genres such as pantomime, clowning, video, dance, and performance art rarely seen in the conventional theatre. Many are staged in historic venues within the

Old City of Acre Acre ( ), known locally as Akko ( he, עַכּוֹ, ''ʻAkō'') or Akka ( ar, عكّا, ''ʻAkkā''), is a city in the coastal plain region of the Northern District of Israel. The city occupies an important location, sitting in a natural harb ...

, such as its Crusader-era citadel and knights' halls that have undergone conservation. The Festival has been produced by the Municipality of Akko since the year 2000. It is supported by the Israel

Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: *Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania) *Ministry of Culture (Algeria) *Ministry of Culture (Argentina) * Minister for the Arts (Australia) *Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan) * Ministry of ...

, the Old Acre Development Company and overseas

philanthropic foundations A foundation (also a charitable foundation) is a category of nonprofit organization or charitable trust that typically provides funding and support for other charitable organizations through grants, but may also engage directly in charitable act ...

. The Acre Festival has become a symbol of coexistence between the city's Jewish and Arab inhabitants. Each year's program features works by Arab playwrights and troupes along with performances by music ensembles. Performance projects led by theatre professionals provide training for local Arab and Jewish teens, including immigrant youth. The Festival has been postponed and scaled down twice due to interethnic disturbances: during the

October 2000 events The October 2000 protests, also known as October 2000 events, were a series of protests in Arab villages in northern Israel in October 2000 that turned violent, escalating into rioting by Israeli Arabs, which led to counter-rioting by Israeli Je ...

of the

Second Intifada The Second Intifada ( ar, الانتفاضة الثانية, ; he, האינתיפאדה השנייה, ), also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada ( ar, انتفاضة الأقصى, label=none, '), was a major Palestinian uprising against Israel. ...

, and in 2008 due to the

Yom Kippur Yom Kippur (; he, יוֹם כִּפּוּר, , , ) is the holiest day in Judaism and Samaritanism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, the first month of the Hebrew calendar. Primarily centered on atonement and repentance, the day's ...

riots, after which the Festival was held during the

Hanukkah or English translation: 'Establishing' or 'Dedication' (of the Temple in Jerusalem) , nickname = , observedby = Jews , begins = 25 Kislev , ends = 2 Tevet or 3 Tevet , celebrations = Lighting candles each night. ...

holiday week. In 2018, it was noted that the “multi-ethnic” Festival’s signs were posted in Hebrew only, avoiding Arabic, although Arabic is the native language of one third of the population of the city, and Arabic had been taken of the Festival’s logo.

Member of Knesset Lists of Knesset members cover members of the Knesset of Israel. They are organized by session, by ethnicity and by position. By session * List of members of the first Knesset (1949–51) * List of members of the second Knesset (1951–55) * Lis ...

Aida Touma-Suleiman Aida Touma-Suleiman ( ar, عايدة توما سليمان, he, עָאִידָה תּוּמָא סֻלִימָאן; born 16 July 1964) is an Israeli Arab journalist and politician. She has been a member of the Knesset for Hadash since 2015. Bio ...

, who lives in Acre, filed a complaint. In a reaction, the municipality wrote: “Acre is a model of coexistence and nobody can lecture us on that.”Jack Khoury: No Arabic Signs at Acre’s Multi-ethnic Theater Festival. In:

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner f ...

, 27. September 2018.

References

External links

*
Acco Festival of Alternative Israeli Theatre 1980-1995 collection
on the Digital collections of

Younes and Soraya Nazarian Library The Younes and Soraya Nazarian Library is a central academic library of the University of Haifa, and one of the largest in Israel. It is also one of the most progressive Israeli libraries in terms of service, collection, physical space, and libr ...

, University of Haifa {{DEFAULTSORT:Acco Festival of Alternative Israeli Theatre 1980 establishments in Israel Acre, Israel Festivals established in 1980 Fringe festivals Sukkot Israeli culture Theatre festivals in Israel

History

See also

References

External links