Jonah 2010

by Elian Vileji

A fantastic visual creation, touching upon personal equivalent with the biblical stroy of Jonah, through image, movement, voice... and faith.

The book of Jonah is one of the twelve biblical books of prophets. It tells the story of of the prophet swallowed by the big fish.

Like most people, Jonah tries to escape his destiny to his own small world, without fulfilling his duties. Jonah runs away from God to the sea, where he is trapped in a storm and eventually into the belly of the fish, until he finally is emitted to shore. Weary from his journey, Jonah accepts his mission, but not full-heartedly. The road ahead of him is longer than expected. It will lead him to the realization that the highest virtue is that of mercy and compassion - not necessarily to his own self - but to his fellow humans.

On an empty stage a shapeless, nameless entity emerges. The figure of Jonah is created out of this vacuum. He inspects his environment, himself, he hears voices from the past, from within, from outside. Poetic images are staged, creating an almost associative sequence of situations existing in the no-man's land between dream and reality - yet still managing to convey a linear, complete narrative.

Elian Vilejy, graduate of the Nisan Nativ School, was member of Clipa Theater between 2000 and 2007. He created original performances for all major festivals in Israel, including the opera performance "Orechestra" in Acco festival and "The Tree" - an award winning children show for the Haifa children festival.

Creation, Script and Performance: Elian Vilejy
Creative Consulting: Yaron Karbel
Artistic and Movement Advisor: Marina Baltov
Video Footage: Fima Shlik, Elian Vilejy
Video Art: Niv Ben David
Original Music: Dan Yaacobi
Photography: Ania Bonderneko

Jonah 2010

by Elian Vileji

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