A Message from the Artistic Director Dalia Shimko

43 years ago, I was a theater girl. I went with my boyfriend to the first Akko Festival and felt like a child in a candy store. Since then, I returned to the festival time and again as a member of the audience and 3 times as an actress, and the experiences I had made a great impression on me and shaped my artistic path. I find it difficult to find the proper words to describe the excitement, the respect and the awe I feel after being given the privilege of being the artistic director of this well-established and wonderful festival. The Akko International Fringe Theater Festival is a unique cultural treasure in the landscape of Israeli (and international) theater, and it should be cultivated, enhanced and enriched.          

This year, the festival received 326 submissions, breaking the all-time record. 

We, the members of the Artistic Committee (Esty Zakheim, Dori Parnas, Khaliffa Natur, Uri Zamir and I) reviewed these submissions and selected 8 shows for the competition, from different theater genres and touching on a wide variety of issues. They include contemporary adaptations of texts by Natan Alternam and Marguerite Duras, personal works with social tones, performance shows, a musical and a digital concert for one actress and 3 computer figures. 

We also opened the Incubator project, to showcase the new generation of theater artists! It includes 6 shows dealing with social issues, such as different kinds of racism, ageism and pedophilia and its consequences. We didn't turn a blind eye to the large number of good submissions we received, and opened the Tent project, an "off Akko" of sorts, to allow more young talented creators to take part in this important festival. This year, the festival offers a rich, extensive and varied program, and I believe that all culture lovers will be able to find in it something that will tickle their curiosity and challenge and excite them. 

I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the creators, actors, technical teams and all those taking part in the hard work and making the festival a colorful celebration of theater, full of life and talent.  

And to you, dear members of the audience, I wish nothing more than sheer enjoyment filled with joy and challenging moments.

Happy theater celebration, 

Dalia Shimko 

Artistic Director.