arts & culture
‘Rehearsals’ Pulls No Punches in
Depictions of Relationships,
Israeli Theater
ANDY GOTLIEB | JE EDITOR
F rom the very fi rst scene of
“Rehearsals,” viewers will real-
ize the show isn’t sugarcoating
how things work behind the scenes in
theater, nor is it casting a warm glow
on those who bring it to the stage.

In that fi rst scene, we see the cur-
tain call of a play, complete with the
actors smiling and waving to an ador-
ing crowd. But as they come off stage,
it’s clear that all is not well. Th e male
lead curses about having to do an extra
curtain call and is more interested in
getting the score from a sporting event.

His co-star thinks he was dismissive of
her, while another actor confronts him
because he cut short her punchline.

All of this happens in about two
minutes, and we haven’t even met the
stars of the series, known in Israel as
“Hazarot.” Th e 10-episode series airs
on Hulu in its native Hebrew, although
English subtitles are available.

Th ose stars would be Iris (Noa Koler)
and Tomer (Erez Drigues), professional
partners who are, respectively, a play-
wright and a director. Oh, and they’re
romantic partners whose most recent
work chronicles their relationship.

We fi rst meet them pitching their
new “Echad + Achat” (One Plus One)
to the tough-as-nails Mishkan Th eater
manager Vera (the scene-stealing
Eugenia Dodina). She doesn’t seem too
impressed, however, so Iris and Tomer
drive home disillusioned.

You already get the sense that the
couple is struggling and, sure enough, a
fi ght breaks out that night when Iris falls
asleep during sex; aft er extensive argu-
ing, Tomer fi nally expresses the desire
to break up. He leaves their apartment to
cool off and, sure enough, a few minutes
later receives a text from Vera saying the
theater is interested in the play.

And that means that even though
Tomer subsequently moves out, he’ll
still be working regularly with his long-
time former girlfriend, who isn’t so
ready to end the relationship — even if
she still has plenty of gripes as well with
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From left: “Rehearsals” stars Erez Drigues and
Noa Koler
Courtesy of Hulu
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