Itai Erdal, playwright and actor | Photo by Emily Cooper
Itai Erdal’s play, A Very Narrow Bridge, explores the immigrant experience in Canada from a Jewish perspective. The playwright’s own immigration story helped to illustrate the questions that arise and challenges that are faced by many new people.
The play has its world premiere at this year’s Chutzpah! Festival in Vancouver.
“It’s funny. It’s the funniest thing we’ve ever created. It has Jewish humour and essentially it’s about cultural differences, what Canada looks like for someone from Israel (another country),” says Erdal of the play.
The Jewish spirit captured in a song
Erdal moved to Vancouver 16 years ago from Jerusalem and says he created this play because he’s always wanted to tell his own stories.
“I’m not a professional actor, I’m a lighting designer but I’m comfortable on stage. I wouldn’t necessarily be Shakespeare but I’m good at being me,” he says.
Erdal, 41, who is very familiar with the topic of immigration, feels his play will resonate with a lot of people in the city – a place where many people come from somewhere else.
“The lingering doubt in the back of every immigrant’s mind: ‘Did I do the right thing? Would I have been happier if I had stayed [back home]?’” says Erdal.
The music of A Very Narrow Bridge was composed by Erdal’s sister, Talia Erdal.
“It’s a dream come true to perform with her on stage,” says Erdal. He adds that he’s also honoured to share the stage with veteran actors Patty Allan, Tom Pickett and Anton Lipovetsky.
The play gets its title from a Jewish song by Rabbi Nachman of Breslov. It has become a famous song in Israel, sung at weddings, bat mitzvahs and during important sporting events. Erdal says during the Yom Kippur War of 1973, the song was played in the tanks before going into battle as a way to excite the soldiers and set an atmosphere of celebration instead of death.
“The story behind the song is not to yield to despair; it really sums up the Jewish spirit. When things get really tough, don’t get depressed. Don’t be scared at all when you cross the very narrow bridge,” Erdal says.
In the beginning
Itai Erdal, playwright and actor | Photo by Emily Cooper
Erdal moved to Vancouver for two reasons: he wanted to be a filmmaker and Vancouver was an attractive place for big film industries. He was also a bit exhausted by the political situation in Israel.
Although he studied film here and worked in film for a couple of years, he quickly moved back to theatre – his true passion.
“I wrote a play called How to Disappear Completely – my first play which I also acted in – and it had a lot to do with lighting,” says Erdal who is also a photographer.
The role of lights or lighting, he says, helps the audience to not only see the play but it’s an amazing tool that works to change the mood in a play and can also work subliminally.
Teamwork and taking on challenges that seemed insurmountable were good teachers.
“I learned about resiliency. Theatre is a very collaborative effort [Erdal’s team includes Anita Rochon and Maiko Yamamoto]. I could never have created this play without my collaborators and learning to trust others’ artistic visions. It also taught me more about the community and made me love Vancouver even more,” says Erdal.
Having come to Vancouver by himself, Erdal has felt more Jewish in Vancouver than he did back in Israel. He celebrates Hanukkah – something he didn’t do in his native country.
“I’m an atheist-Jew and I don’t feel it’s a contradiction to say that. Judaism, in my mind, is about language, history, holidays, customs, food and culture –
many things not to do with religion,” Erdal explains.
Erdal says he went from finding Vancouver a bit of a “cold” city in terms of making friends to finding a warm community filled with people he works with and he now feels very close to.
“Immigrating is not an easy thing to do. I’m a very successful immigrant story. It’s not easy to be away from one’s family and not easy to change one’s language – you don’t always get the same cultural references or humour. But I don’t have any regrets – I feel I am where I am meant to be,” says Erdal.
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