The Surround Festival in Tel Aviv will have an abundance of zombies

Zombies, music and innovative puppet theater productions take to the stage during Hanut Theater Group’s three-day Surround Festival, which kicks off at the end of this month.

Octobera new musical performance by Daniel Sapir and the FTW Orchestra, is a daring attempt to express in music the pain, anger and sadness felt after the October 7 Hamas terror attack.

“I locked myself in the recording studio to disconnect from the world,” Sapir said.

The result is a show that promises to dispel hurtful energy and introduce positive energy into the soul of its audience.

The Circus of Nothingnessan English-language puppet theater production for adults, co-created by Shahar Marom, Deborah Benaslouli and Sharon Gabay, is also about loss. Marom told it The Jerusalem Post.

“It’s a circus, but there’s nothing in it,” Marom explained. “There are no elephants, no lions, no flying trapeze – but an entire circus is built from this nothingness.”

The plot concerns a circus couple: Charlie the ringmaster and Mary the acrobat. Charlie is struck with grief when Mary commits suicide. The theme is universal, but the innovative technology behind it – and its emotional impact in a society dealing with enormous grief – are very Israeli.

Led by Los Angeles-born accent coach Natalie Pollak, the actors received specific English language training for this production. “The main goal was clarity rather than perfecting an American accent,” she said After.

After making aliyah Ten years ago, Pollak founded Speak Easy, an accent coaching company, to help Israeli actors – and all other Hebrew speakers – who want to improve their spoken English.

“The focus,” she said, “was to get them to speak clearly and confidently so that their characters could emerge without being hindered by the language.”

Stay up to date with the latest news!

Subscribe to the Jerusalem Post newsletter

“We are a theatrical start-up,” Marom explains. The actors’ bodies were scanned and dozens of puppets were created based on these measurements using advanced 3D printers.

“Puppetry may seem like an ancient art form,” he said, “but what keeps it moving forward is cutting-edge technology.”

FAMILIES WITH young children can enjoy Don Qan adaptation by Anna Viktorova of the great Spanish novel from 1605 Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. Adult customers who crave danger can enjoy Zombie Drive In.

MuZeuM was an earlier group production from the Hanut Theater in which spectators were led through the now rehabilitated undead into a post-apocalyptic museum, where they were shown how Israeli security forces dealt with the brain eaters. Customers can now watch the 2004 comedy Shaun of the Dead at Late Night Zombies Drive In, a tribute to MuZeuM, where the walking dead growl while handing over tickets and selling popcorn.

Artistic director Amit Gour emphasized that there will be times when the Zombies at the drive-in will react to the filmed scenes shown.

“Their passion is chewing, so it will be interesting to see what happens when they are exposed to this temptation shown on the big screen,” he told the newspaper. After.

“This is the moment when they can crack – just like anyone else trying to break a pattern.”

Gour noted that the imaginary story in MuZeuM started at a fictional dance party, when zombies first started biting people. This bears an uncanny resemblance to the Supernova tragedywhere young partygoers were murdered by Hamas terrorists.

“Zombies are aimed at a niche audience that enjoys blood and gore,” he noted. “Now we are all part of that audience – and not by our own choice. This whole year has been macabre.”

Daniel Sapir and the FTW Orchestra will perform on Thursday, October 31 at 9:00 PM NIS 25 per ticket. Don Q can be seen on Friday, November 1 at 6:00 PM and 8:00 PM NIS 90 per ticket. On Saturday, November 2, the Circus of Nothingness can be seen in an English-language performance at 6:00 PM and 8:00 PM. NIS 90 per ticket. Late Night Zombies Drive In runs on Saturday, November 2 at 9:30 PM NIS 65 per ticket. 5 Tel Giburim St. 2nd floor. For more information about the festival shows and to book tickets, visit.