LGBTQ+ Playwriting in Israel - The Fifth Wall - Issue Number 18

Oct 1

4 min read

Updated: 3 days ago

The Fifth Wall - The Israeli Drama Newsletter- #18

01.10.2026

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Somehow, in these recent years of war, under a right wing ultra-conservative government, there's a flourishing of LGBTQ+ creation and representation on the stages of Israeli theater. When Yigael Sachs offered I edit this issue, we stopped for a moment to ask what we're actually talking about when discussing "LGBTQ+ playwriting": Why is there still so little lesbian centered theatrical creation? What happens when being gay no longer has to be the central conflict of a play? And why do we even need an LGBTQ+ theater once the largest theaters are also telling our stories? There is also of course all that didn't make it into this issue- we hardly mentioned bisexual and transgender centered work, for example, which is still sorely missing from our stages. The increasing LGBTQ+ representation on Israel's stages signals to me that the theater has not yet forgotten its political and social role. This in a reality in which LGBTQ+ equality in Israel is still partial and not fully enshrined in law, and in which we are seeing increasingly frequent acts of hate and violence targeting LGBTQ+ individuals, even in the center of Tel Aviv. There's a lot to celebrate in this representation and the artistic expression it enables, but we should never allow it to distract us: Art cannot replace rights. And if a change doesn't happen in Israel's political and social reality, it's clear to me that the future of the LGBTQ+ community here is in danger.

Enjoy the read,

Nimrod Danishman- Guest editor, playwright, director and co-founder of Hameshulash (Triangle) Theater

**"Yossi and Jagger" by Avner Bernheimer, Directed by Ido Rosenberg- Coming soon to Habima Theater. Photography: Amit Naim**

The Gay Revolution Succeeded!

So why do we still need an independent LGBTQ+ theater?

A drag musical fills the National Theater, LGBTQ+ stories have entered the repertoire, and the audience is voting with their feet. So why do we still need our own theater? Nimrod Danishman, playwright and co-founder and director of Hameshulash (Triangle) Theater, on the difference between getting a place on stage and owning your own stage.

לקריאת המאמר

From "The One" by Rom Reznik and Cnaan Levkovich , Photography: Eliad Sudai — **From "The One" by** Rom Reznik and Cnaan Levkovich , Photography: Eliad Sudai

"Yikes, where did all these lesbians come from?"

In recent years, LGBTQ representation in culture has been growing, but the female voice is still lagging behind. Why is there still so little lesbian representation on stage? Yuval Corne ("Collective Rage," "A Beautiful View," "Five Lesbians Eating A Quiche"), director and co-founder of Hameshulash (The Triangle) Theater, on the lack of LGBT female content, women's complex relationships with lesbian culture and spaces, and what needs to happen for this to change.

לקריאת המאמר

"We Are No More Than This" by Gal Chapski Produced and directed by: Yuval Corne, Nimrod Danishman, Rom Reznik- (Hameshulash Theater) Photography: Yossi Yarom

Everyone in the Institutional Theater is a Homophobe.

Just kidding, not really. They're sweethearts. But I swear I have a point.

Why are so many LGBT representations in theater still centered around coming out, acceptance, and homophobia?

Playwright Amir Zloter ("Geva Can't Fall in Love") wanted to write a play in which being gay is a non-issue. A play in which gays experience broken hearts, trauma, wars and relocation - in short, other troubles. Then he began to suspect that this desire was the issue: did he really want to write a world in which gays simply exist, or a world in which gays are gay as long as they don't feel like they are gay?

לקריאת המאמר

**From "Geva Can't Fall in Love" by Amir Zloter , Photography: Oron Kaplan**

קולות קוראים

קול קורא למחזור השלישי של תוכנית "מעבדת פיתוח" (2027)

"מעבדת פיתוח" היא תוכנית פיתוח מחזות של אנסמבל "קבוצת עבודה" בניהולו האמנותי של יגאל זקס. מטרת התוכנית היא הנעת תהליך כתיבה של מחזות מקוריים חדשים, מסינופסיס ועד להפקה מלאה.

התוכנית מיועדת למחזאים או תסריטאים מנוסים, המעוניינים לפתח רעיון מקורי למחזה שיופק במסגרת אנסמבל "קבוצת עבודה". משתתפי התוכנית שיבחרו על פי הצעותיהם, יקבלו מקדמת פיתוח בסך 8000 ₪ וליווי דרמטורגי בדרך לפיתוח מחזות חדשים, במטרה שחלקם יופק בהמשך התהליך במסגרת אנסמבל קבוצת עבודה.

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