Aquarium- Theatre in Lip Sync

Haifa Theatre

"Know your elders, and you will know yourself"

Debut performance: 19/09/2016

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Idea, directing and text adaptation: Ronnie Brodetzky

Choreography: Tal Cohn

Set and costume design: Ruth Miller

Music: Nadav Vikinski

Lighting: Hani Vardi

Assistant director: Yuval Corne

Lip sync training: Ori Urian

Cast: Keren Orr, Erez Bitton, Chen Garti, Negba Maor, Meital Ner, Vladislav Pesachovitz, Ron Rychter, Erez Sharabani

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About the play:

Aquarium is a documentary theatre production that makes use of the art of lip sync and of a unique movement language. The production made its debut at the Haifa Theatre in September of 2016. It had a run of over 150 performances all over Israel and received rave reviews.

 

In May of 2019, I was invited by the Salzburger Landestheater in Salzburg, Austria, to create a new production of the same format especially for them, using local recordings of Austrian senior citizens. The show was received enthusiastically and earned critical acclaim.

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Aquarium presents us with an innovative format. Young actors lip sync to the recorded voices of elderly men and women. These senior citizens talk about every topic under the sun: sex, fate, anxieties, aging bodies, ugly grandchildren, and the fear of death. The actors lip sync to the voices of the elderly, but they don’t act elderly, instead expressing youth through their movement. This creates a certain distance, allowing the audience to hear the older generation without judgement and preconceptions.

 

The text is made up of recorded small talk, short conversations that express the full breadth of humanity: compassion, anxiety, fear, laughter, sensitivity, anger, horror. An abundance of human moments unfold before our eyes. Listening to this light chatter – sometimes comical, sometimes touching – we find an opening into the depths of the soul and an uncompromising observation of the final stage of a human life. These personal conversations bring up a collective history and offer a glimpse of society as a whole.

 

Lip sync is an art of mistakes. Since the recordings being heard are completely authentic conversations between two people, each actor must have incredibly precise technique. Slips of the tongue, lapses, and speech and language errors become feats of virtuosity.

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The aesthetic that accompanies the voices of the elderly is a pastoral one: a swimming pool, kitschy pink swimsuits, classical music. The artistic selection of lip sync, combined with movement, music, and the stage's aesthetic, allows the audience to hear the voices of a quickly fading generation from a different perspective. The show is an opportunity for us to listen to the older generation with fresh ears.

 

The result is very funny, truly moving, and human – everything that I love.

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From the reviews:

"A unique, touching, funny and heart-wrenching performance... The actors perform the lip-synced texts fantastically well. Their movement is excellent and their acting remarkable...

An innovative creation and a pleasure to watch; replete with sadness and laughter, emotion and grief... "

Haim Noy, TheMarker Cafe

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"The director's decision to set her work in a swimming pool backdrop is nothing short of brilliant. To our wonder and delight, this is just a small part of what makes the show brilliant. The true stroke of genius making Aquarium so impressive and unique in the Israeli theatre scene is the choice to perform it entirely in lip sync. Every single one of this show's creators deserve to be complimented on it. "

Ron Schwartz, Globes

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"The wonderful acting of the energetic cast made us smile for the entire show"

 Esti Tal, Motke

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“An extraordinary experience. Different. Delightful. Warmly recommended... It's not up for debate, as far as I'm concerned this is the best show of the year! Take those you love for an hour of pure pleasure. Ronnie Brodetzky and the "Haifait" team, you are G-E-N-I-U-S-E-S!

Michal Shargil Ben Sira, Saloona

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"A first-rate production in Israeli theatre! Hats off to the Haifa Theatre for turning theatre into magic, for finding a new and contemporary artistic language, and for creating an extraordinary production and giving a stage to some terrific actors. Go see it now!" 

Yafit Levy, Saloona

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