Music, killer heels and a lethal troop of divas

Theatre Ad Infinitum’s Ballad of the Burning Star (Photo: Idil Sukan Draw HQ)

When: 31st July – 26th August 2013 at 5.15pm

Where: Pleasance Queen Dome, Edinburgh

£: Previews (31st July – 2nd August) cost £7.50.  Monday – Tuesday performances cost £10.00 (£8.50), Wednesday – Thursday performances £12 (£10.50) and Friday – Sunday performances cost £13 (£12).  For tickets phone the box office on 0131 556 6550 or visit www.pleasance.co.uk/edinburgh

What is it?

Theatre Ad Infinitum returns to Edinburgh with Ballad of the Burning Star.

Armed with music, killer heels and a lethal troop of divas, an enraged Israeli executes a story of victimhood, persecution, aggression and love.  With shrapnel-sharp voices and moves as smooth as an oiled tank chain, this cabaret troop invites you on a journey into the core of the conflicted Jewish State.

Co-Artistic Director, Israeli-born Nir Paldi, is writer, director and co-performer of Theatre Ad Infinitum’s first politically themed, semi-autobiographical and acerbically funny piece, Ballad of the Burning Star.  The play’s MC, ‘Star’, and her secret weapons, The Starlets, examine the life of an Israeli man called Israel; his childhood in a Jewish settlement built on occupied Palestinian territories, the perpetual war that tore his family apart, and the traumatic events of his military service that made him ask “Am I a victim or a persecutor?”

Theatre Ad Infinitum aims to consistently surprise its public with each new piece.  The full force of this poignant story unfolds with biting wit and passion through a cacophonic concoction of cabaret, drag, physical storytelling, original songs, live music and new writing.

“I want to explore the identity crisis facing my homeland, Israel,” says Nir Paldi. “As Jewish Israelis, we’re brought up on the belief that we are always persecuted, that all non-Jews are against us and that a second holocaust is about to erupt at any moment In Israel, the victim identity is present everywhere you turn but what is rarely talked about is the fact that Israel has become an occupier – that we are also the persecutors.  This leaves Israelis feeling a deep-rooted discord between being the victim, historically, and being the persecutor, in a modern-day reality.

“This is dark subject matter, but we have approached it playfully.  Elements of cabaret, sanguine humour, and drag act as a colourful counter-balance to the tragic elements of our story.  The play is a mix of theatrical styles that weave together an intricate account of an extremely complex reality.”

More info: www.pleasance.co.uk/edinburgh and www.theatreadinfinitum.co.uk