The Israelis seeking to conquer the Edinburgh Fringe Festival

Every August, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival brings Scotland’s capital to life as the world’s largest arts festival, featuring more than 50,000 performances of over 3,500 shows across 300 venues, descends on the city.

Gal Sabo’s Triptych, Israeli theater’s sole representative at this year’s festival, explores the clash between the desire of three Israeli women for social acceptance and approval as young women in society and what the realization of that desire may entail.

Aya Sadot, Nofar Oved and Lior Lev, the latter double-casted alongside Amit Sidi in Scotland, seek to prove victorious in a competition for social recognition without any winners.

Triptych asks questions regarding women in society today through an intriguing combination of often-embarrassing childhood stories, four styles of dance and the performers’ desire to be loved by both the audience and society.

As the three stories of the young women meet on stage, their hourlong performance makes the audience laugh, squirm in their seats and maybe shed a few tears too.

Prior to taking the Edinburgh stage, Triptych has been regularly drawing in full houses in the performance’s more modest home of Tel Aviv’s Tmuna Theater.

Edinburgh’s Royal Mile and spectacular surroundings will provide Sabo’s work with the larger stage and exposure that it deserves.

Translated from Hebrew into English for its Edinburgh debut, the subject matter of Triptych is one that will be universally understood, especially at a festival where the #MeToo Movement is expected to feature prominently.

There is plenty of competition for attention at the annual festival, but it would be a shame not to spare an hour for this brave production.

August 3-7, 9-13, 15-20, 22-26 at the Sweet Grassmarket (Venue 18). Tickets are available at the Edinburgh Fringe website.