Elijah
I directed the first documented full production of Martin Buber's only play, Elijah. Five actors, two musicians, a painter, an assistant director, and I gave ourselves over to the text over six months to discover its secrets. We stepped into a world of biblical narrative and found the space where the stories broke down, where there was only silence, presence, and relationship. ̌
In the final scene, Elijah, alone on stage, looks up at the altar of the church and sings the Jewish prayer "Hineni," acknowledging his flaws but hoping his prayers, his actions, will nonetheless be accepted.
The poster for Elijah was created by Andrew Sotiriou, who was commissioned to paint the 6 large paintings that lined the walls of the church where the play took place.
In the first scene, Elijah unexpectedly hears the call of God, then fights against it, and eventually is forced to surrender.
On Mt. Carmel, Elijah performs a miracle proving that his God is True, and that Baal is not. After this miracle, he ritually slaughters the 450 prophets of Baal who had been present. In this scene, Elijah realized the weight of their blood on his soul.
In a strange addition to the original story, Buber throws in a scene of talking, joking ravens who speak to Elijah. In this production, this scene served to jar the audience's sense of linearity and to bring some levity to the somber biblical tone of the narrative.
Ahab serves as foil and invitation for Elijah, giving him the space to become who he is called to be
