“I’m (frantically) travelling between excitement and terror!”
WHO: Shahar Marom
WHAT: “Join us in a sensational visual performance from an object-theatre master. Courageous spectators will be asked to participate in seven of the universe’s most spectacular machines, invented specifically to observe the human spiritual spectrum! Shahar Marom specialises in interdisciplinary art, searching for a new stage language combining design and performative act. The Machine Man Spectacle is a personal journey of a lonely machine inventor trying to understand the world through his machines. You will be asked to join him on his quest, participate in his machines and become, for a moment, his entire world.”
WHERE: Hill Street Theatre – Alba Theatre (Venue 41)
WHEN: VARIES (70 min)
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Is this your first time to Edinburgh?
Yup, and I’m (frantically) travelling between excitement and terror!
As a creator bringing my show to the Fringe is a really big deal, it’s a dream come true. I’ve been in this business for as long as I can remember – as a performer, artistic director, creator, theater owner… and yet I’ve never been as nervous as I am now.
My show is all about connecting with the audience – I look for answers to seven questions and it’s the audience who help me find them. During the show I invite seven volunteers to share a moment of truth with me on stage, and the crowd back home has a great time participating. It’ll be interesting to see how an international crowd will react.
What are the big things you’ve learned since 2022 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?
That there is a huge gap between what you imagine and the outcome, and it’s all about trying to remove this gap. I chose to deal with seven questions through seven machines – each with a secret of its own and each created for and with unique purpose.
We have a hard time expressing ourselves in regular conversations, and conveying ideas in the theater is even harder – especially if you use machines and not only words to express ideas. A lot can get lost here.
I knew my amateur engineering skills wouldn’t be enough so I used the help of a friend who actually knew what he was doing (thanks again Sharon Gabay!), and we worked very hard to bring as much of what I had in mind to life.
Though there’s still a gap, the machines came out great – even if I have about four chances of dying or getting seriously injured during the show while operating them.
Tell us about your show.
My show focuses on seven questions: Why do we look for fame? Can we live with our mistakes? Why can’t we laugh about death? What gives us pleasure? Are we substance or spirit? Can we confront our biggest fear? Will we ever return after dying or transforming?
These issues probably bugged me for a while, because I dreamt the whole script one night. I woke up the next morning with the whole thing in my mind: concept, character – everything. I started sketching the machines immediately.
It’s been running for a while now – enough times for me to be able to enjoy the show more than be concerned with technicalities, and it’s a great feeling.
The show doesn’t require too many hands, so we’re a small team. luckily enough my (amazing) sister is in the theater business as well and she’s producing our Fringe adventure. my son is helping out too so we’re literally going to be one big happy family here.
I don’t know what our next stop will be. Hopefully this will be the beginning of a very long and interesting world tour. I’d really love to know how different audiences from around the world affect the show, since they’re such a huge part of it. No scene is ever the same as it was thanks to the volunteers who bring their beautiful selves into them. They create the show with me, so no one ever gets to see the same show twice – even those who saw it more than once.
What should your audience see at the festivals after they’ve seen your show?
There are two shows I’d like to recommend: ‘Bill’s 44th’ and ‘The Court’.
‘The Court’ was created by Derek Douglas who is also hosting us in his venue – Hill Street Theater. Meeting him felt like finding a fellow theater-entrepreneur. He also gets the audience involved in the show, giving them a chance to see things in a different perspective. I think that for an audience this is one of the most interesting ways of experiencing theater.
‘Bill’s 44th’ is a show I want to bring to the annual festival my theater back home hosts. It makes unexpected use of objects and creates a perfect harmony between them on stage to the point of extracting the purest emotions from the audience.
In general, I recommend seeing theater that you haven’t seen before. Explore theater frontiers, look for a theater experience that will change your life through reflecting at art or just go to the most hilarious show there is running next to you, because laughing is the best thing you can wish for.
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