Narcissist, philistine actor Ben Rozen (Yuval Kenin-Nachmias) ropes hapless, dim-witted acting student Het (Itamar Moalem) into a stage roller-coaster ride in this brilliant, nonsensical and often shocking stand-up show.
A victim of school bullying, Rozen convinces himself (and Het) of his profound genius, produces a musical in which Yigal Amir replaces Aviv Geffen as the singer at the fateful peace rally on November 4, 1995, where prime minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated, and takes questions from the audience.
Rozen is oblivious to his own shortcomings and, due to the adoration Het offers him, is totally free from any self-realization of his own limitations.
The hardest-hitting scenes are those in which Rozen’s naïve self-adoration uncovers some real, deeply-rooted fantasies in Israeli culture.
In one dreamy sequence a “poor old woman who survived the Holocaust, and stuff” compels him to redeem the Jewish people by playing the guitar.
Because this is his fantasy-fulfilling one-man show, Rozen not only cheers the woman up, he also receives flowers from Leah Rabin for “finally telling the truth about what really happened.” Even the late Barry Chamish, I imagine, would have grinned at that one.
This cult performance has gained devoted followers who attend it repeatedly, film parts of it on their phones to share it online, and buy the Ben Rozen merchandise Het sells.
Come watch Rozen gleefully butcher everything Israeli theater holds dear while shouting “I’m Hanoch Levin!” – and laugh with him at our own collective follies.
The Ben Rozen Show, directed by Nir Knaan. Hebrew only. The show is ongoing, future performances are offered on Friday, October 25, and Sunday, November 10, both shows are at 10 p.m. Tmuna Theater, Shontzino St., 8, Tel Aviv. Call (03) 561-1211 to reserve.