The National Library of Israel is one of only a select few institutions around the world who hold “The First Folio,” a collection of Shakespeare plays published in 1623. This unique piece, as well as other rare Shakespeare manuscripts, were anonymously donated to the NLI in the autumn of 2022. To mark the First Folio’s 400th anniversary, The National Library of Israel is organizing a series of lectures on William Shakespeare and his legacy, with leading Israeli cultural and academic figures. The series will be broadcast between April and June 2023.

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Episode one:

Yair Sherman in discussion with Dori Parnes. Yair Sherman - one of the most promising fresh voices in Israeli theater today, who directed several high-profile Shakespearean productions at the Gesher Theater and the Beit Lessin Theater in Tel Aviv. Parnes and Sherman discuss the universality and timelessness of Shakespeare's plays, as well as Sherman's personal fascination with Shakespeare. They also explore whether Shakespeare's works are still relevant to contemporary culture and modern social life in Israel.

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Yair Sherman is an award-winning theatre director and one of the most promising fresh voices in Israeli theater today. Sherman was born in San Jose in 1984 and grew up in Jerusalem. In 2003, he moved to NYC where he studied at The American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA). After completing his studies, Sherman returned to Israel where he lives in Tel Aviv. He has been working as a theatre director in numerous venues throughout the country and abroad, and teaches at Tel Aviv University and three of the country's leading dramatic academies. In 2022 Sherman received the Milo award for "Best Director" for the Cameri Theatre production of "Death of a Salesman", and in 2016, Sherman won awards for two separate productions: "Best Director" for his production of "The Bacchae", at Israel’s annual Kipod Hazahav Fringe Theatre Awards, and "Best Director", "Best Play", and "Best Supporting Actor" for The Endless Mourner at The Kufar International Festival in Minsk, Belarus. In 2019 he was invited to Beijing to direct Hanoch Levin's epic play "Requiem".Selected works: "Hamlet", "Death of a Salesman", "The Seagull", "The Maids", "The bride and the Butterfly Hunter", "Requiem", "Indecent", "A Winter Funeral".

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Dori Parens was born in Tel Aviv. He is a translator, editor and composer of music for theaters in Israel and abroad. He has translated many of William Shakespeare's plays and other plays into Hebrew. He founded and manages the free website Shakespeare Co. which features his translations of Shakespeare plays , a useful source for reading and studying Shakespeare in Hebrew. Parnes has also translated fifty works by Y.L. Peretz which were compiled in the book City of the Dead (2018), published by Modan. He also translated the book Gogol by Nabokov, Stories from Tel Aviv by Audrey Bergner, Utz by Bruce Chatwin, The Affair of the Socialist Sorcerer by Hama Toma, and edited and translated a collection of Gustav Flaubert's letters.

The National Library of Israel is one of only a select few institutions around the world who hold “The First Folio,” a collection of Shakespeare plays published in 1623. This unique piece, as well as other rare Shakespeare manuscripts, were anonymously donated to the NLI in the autumn of 2022. To mark the First Folio’s 400th anniversary, The National Library of Israel is organizing a series of lectures on William Shakespeare and his legacy, with leading Israeli cultural and academic figures. The series will be broadcast between April and June 2023.

‍

Episode one:

Yair Sherman in discussion with Dori Parnes. Yair Sherman - one of the most promising fresh voices in Israeli theater today, who directed several high-profile Shakespearean productions at the Gesher Theater and the Beit Lessin Theater in Tel Aviv. Parnes and Sherman discuss the universality and timelessness of Shakespeare's plays, as well as Sherman's personal fascination with Shakespeare. They also explore whether Shakespeare's works are still relevant to contemporary culture and modern social life in Israel.

‍

Yair Sherman is an award-winning theatre director and one of the most promising fresh voices in Israeli theater today. Sherman was born in San Jose in 1984 and grew up in Jerusalem. In 2003, he moved to NYC where he studied at The American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA). After completing his studies, Sherman returned to Israel where he lives in Tel Aviv. He has been working as a theatre director in numerous venues throughout the country and abroad, and teaches at Tel Aviv University and three of the country's leading dramatic academies. In 2022 Sherman received the Milo award for "Best Director" for the Cameri Theatre production of "Death of a Salesman", and in 2016, Sherman won awards for two separate productions: "Best Director" for his production of "The Bacchae", at Israel’s annual Kipod Hazahav Fringe Theatre Awards, and "Best Director", "Best Play", and "Best Supporting Actor" for The Endless Mourner at The Kufar International Festival in Minsk, Belarus. In 2019 he was invited to Beijing to direct Hanoch Levin's epic play "Requiem".Selected works: "Hamlet", "Death of a Salesman", "The Seagull", "The Maids", "The bride and the Butterfly Hunter", "Requiem", "Indecent", "A Winter Funeral".

‍

Dori Parens was born in Tel Aviv. He is a translator, editor and composer music for theaters in Israel and abroad. He translated many of William Shakespeare's plays and other plays into Hebrew. He founded and manages the free site Shakespeare Co. which includes his translations of the plays by William Shakespeare which is the most useful source to read and study Shakespeare in Hebrew. Parnes also translated fifty works of Y.L. Peretz's published by Modan in the book "City of the Dead '' (2018). He also translated the book 'Gogol' by Nabokov, "Stories from Tel Aviv" by Audrey Bergner, "Utz" by Bruce Chatwin, "The Affair of the Socialist Sorcerer" by Hama Toma, and edited and translated the collection of Gustav Flaubert's letters.