שושנה
A comedic, dark, and semi-fictional show about identity and home — told through the eyes of Israel's first superstar.
מופע יחיד מוזיקלי ישראלי — קומי, אפל ובדיוני למחצה — על זהות ועל בית
ב-7 באוקטובר 2023 העולם היהודי נרעד. ברגע הקודר ההוא שאלנו: מי אנחנו — ואיפה הבית?
שושנה דמארי, הזמרת התימנייה-ישראלית — "מלכת הזמר העברי" — הפכה ל"סופרסטאר" הישראלית הראשונה כאשר יצאה למסע בארה"ב כדי לייצג את המדינה שאך זה נולדה. מסעה אל הכוכבות הביא אותה לגדולה, אך גם הציב בפניה שאלות קשות, בעוד היא מותירה מאחור את ארצה ואת משפחתה הטריים.
במופע קומי, אפל וסמי-בדיוני, עולה שושנה מהקבר בבית עלמין טרומפלדור כדי להציג את סיפורה האישי — ואת זה הלאומי — דרך נקודת מבטה: להרים את המורל בעורף, כפי שעשתה ב-73, ולומר שכל זה — הרי קרה כבר.
On October 7, 2023, the Jewish world was shaken. In that dark moment we asked: who are we — and where is home?
Shoshana Damari, the Yemenite-Israeli singer — "the Queen of Hebrew Song" — became Israel's first superstar when she set out on a tour of the United States to represent the newly born state. Her journey to stardom brought her greatness, but also confronted her with difficult questions, as she left behind her young country — and her young family.
In a comedic, dark, semi-fictional show, Shoshana rises from her grave in Trumpeldor Cemetery to present her personal story — and the national one — through her own eyes: to lift morale on the home front, as she did in '73, and to say that all of this has, after all, happened before.
"The spirit of Israel bends — but never breaks."— Shoshana Damari, Queen of Hebrew Song
Born in 1923 in Yemen, Shoshana Damari immigrated to British Mandate Palestine as a child. Rising from poverty in a Yemenite immigrant family, she became the defining voice of the young Israeli nation — her songs woven into the fabric of the State's most defining moments.
During the 1948 War of Independence, she sang to soldiers on the front lines. In the early 1950s, she toured the United States as Israel's cultural ambassador — the first Israeli artist to achieve true international stardom. Her music carried an entire people's longing for home, belonging, and resilience.
She was a woman of color, a Mizrahi Jew, an immigrant — who became the nation's most beloved voice precisely because her story was everyone's story.
Full performance
One-woman show
Hebrew · English subtitles
Song · Monologue · Story
Following the performance, a 30–40 minute moderated panel discussion on the theme of Home — designed for communities grappling with questions of identity, belonging, and the Jewish relationship to Israel after October 7.
The talkback can be tailored to your audience: Hillel students, JCC members, Israeli-American community, synagogue congregations, or general arts audiences.
Request Talkback Format30–40 דקות של שיחה מתורגלת על הנושא: "בית". מתאים לקהילות המתמודדות עם שאלות של זהות, שייכות, ויחסם של יהודים לישראל אחרי ה-7 באוקטובר.
A clip from a live performance
From Bay Area communities who have already experienced Shoshana
Shoshana is available for booking at Jewish community centers, cultural institutions, universities, synagogues, and theaters across North America.
להזמנת המופע לקהילה שלכם — JCC, הילל, בית כנסת, בית תרבות, תיאטרון
Perfect for JCC cultural programming, Israeli heritage events, and post-October 7 community conversations. Available as a co-presentation with your institution.
Ideal for Hillel Israel programming, Jewish Studies departments, and student cultural events. The talkback format is especially powerful for campus communities.
A fully produced one-woman show ready for mid-size theater stages. Minimal technical requirements. Suitable for festivals, residencies, and single-night engagements.
Help bring this story to more communities across North America. We are now raising an initial $50,000 first campaign for touring, access, and sustainability.
תמכו בהבאת שושנה לקהילות נוספות ברחבי צפון אמריקה, ועזרו לשמור על התרבות הישראלית חיה בתפוצות
Tax-deductible gifts through PlayGround, San Francisco, designated for AGADA Theater.
Moria Beshari Liphshitz is an actress, creator, director and teacher at the Wornick JDS school in Foster City, California. She holds a deep commitment to cultural identity and social change, and completed her BA in Theater at the "Emunah" College and her MA in the "Actor-Creator" track at Tel Aviv University.
Moria is a co-founder of "Perakhot" — a groundbreaking, activist, feminist theater ensemble whose productions have toured internationally, including the Edinburgh Festival, Morocco, Sicily and Budapest. Her performance in Papagina earned her a nomination for Actress of the Year at the Golden Hedgehog Awards in Israel.
For over a decade, Moria has dedicated herself to teaching and producing performances for children and youth in educational institutions and community centers. Her work with Shoshana brings together a lifetime of craft, lived experience, and love for the Israeli story.
Oded Liphshitz is an Israeli playwright and director whose work engages thought-provoking, emotionally resonant narratives that touch on complex themes of identity, power, ethics, and belonging. His writing fuses wit, humor and poetry, and asks questions about identity, power, ethics and survival.
Oded completed his studies with honors at the Theater Department of Tel Aviv University, where he also taught directing and playwriting. He holds an MFA in Directing from Tel Aviv University, studied playwriting at The New School for Drama in New York, and worked with internationally acclaimed directors including Bernard Morra and Christophe Rauck.
His plays have been staged in Israel, Europe and the United States, earning critical acclaim and demonstrating his ability to connect with diverse audiences through universal themes. Alongside his creative work, Oded is a certified mindfulness and meditation instructor — a dimension that deeply informs his holistic approach to storytelling and the creative process.
A decade of internationally acclaimed productions — from Edinburgh to Vienna, Tel Aviv to London.
Moria's haunting solo performance giving voice to silenced Mizrahi mothers — performed on an international tour. Nominated for Actress of the Year at Israel's Golden Hedgehog Awards.
Golden Hedgehog NomineeOded's sweeping drama performed across Europe and Israel. Awarded first prize at the Heidelberger Stückemarkt and at the "Potchim BaBama" festival at Beit Lyssin.
Heidelberger Stückemarkt PrizeAn operatic adaptation of Oded's play combining theatrical narrative with operatic grandeur. The original play won the prestigious Bernstein Prize for Literature in 2012.
Bernstein Prize for Literature 2012A bold theatrical production in which Moria commands the stage with visceral power and emotional depth — praised for a powerful combination of physicality, sharp humor and vulnerability.
Golden Hedgehog — Actress NominationOded's sharp, emotionally precise exploration of human relationships — produced at Tmuna Theater, Tel Aviv and Mountview Academy, London. Critics praised its emotional depth and compelling narrative.
An absurdist yet meaningful exploration of identity, directed by Prof. Edna Shavit at Tel Aviv University and later in Vienna by Ingrid Lang. Critics noted Oded's distinctive voice in experimental theater.
A video artwork available on YouTube examining the social and communal implications of October 7, 2023. The piece offers a reflective narrative on identity and resilience, demonstrating Oded's ability to engage with urgent contemporary themes with urgency and empathy.
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