A controversial Israeli play which religious elements in Israel sought to have banned will open this year’s Edinburgh Festival, regarded as one of the world’s top artistic events.
Nefesh Yehudi (A Jewish Soul), by Yehoshua Sobol, presented by the Haifa Theater, deals with the last hours of Otto Weininger, a Jewish anti-Semite who committed suicide in Austria in 1903, at the age of 23. It includes three erotic scenes passed by the film and theatre censorship board only after its members had seen a full dress rehearsal. The scenes were condemned by religious leaders as “blasphemous and offensive.”
The play is to be performed on the opening night of the Festival in Scotland on August 22, in Hebrew, with a simultaneous English translation available to the audience. A Haifa Theater spokesman said the invitation was extended by festival manager John Drummond, who has been visiting Israel.
The invitation to open the Festival is regarded as a great honor, especially since it is the first time an Israeli play is being presented as an official part of the Festival, though Israeli works have been presented unofficially in Edinburgh during the Festival period.
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