Theatre Ad Infinitum made their name where many venture but only a few get noticed–the Edinburgh Fringe. The Lecoq trained international company has been a fixture at the festival since 2008; last year their piece Ballad of the Burning Star managed to navigate its way to several awards, even more nominations and almost universal critical acclaim.

Ballad of the Burning Star crams so much into a single show it’s difficult to boil down to a blurb: it explores conflicts of national identity in Israel, features a chorus of international divas, uses songs to introduce the audiences to Jewish history, and most of all opens up the topic of the Middle Eastern conflict through a drag cabaret staring the symbolically named host – Star.

Nir Paldi, one of Theatre Ad Infinitum’s co-artistic directors used his personal experiences to kick-start the devising process but soon found himself abandoning the idea of a one man show in favour of a cabaret. Ahead of the 3 week run at the Battersea Arts Centre, he talked to us about how the show grew to be so layered, why a drag character allows for more freedom and what he hopes you leave the performance with.

Run-Riot: Ballad of the Burning Star follows a narrative of negotiating one’s national identity. Can you tell us how this subject is explored in the show?

Nir Paldi: Ballad of the Burning Star follows the life of a Jewish Israeli boy growing up in a Jewish settlement built on occupied Palestinian territory. With the background of historical and modern persecution of Jews and the Israeli government and education system using this to maintain a sense of Israeli victimhood, he is struggling with the atrocities he has committed within the Israeli war machine. Is he a victim or a persecutor? Can you be both at the same time? The show explores the idea of 'truth' and how many different truths can exist at once. Like the protagonist, the audience tries to hold on to an agenda the show is supposedly promoting, but as the narrative advances and things jolt from one side to the other, they are left torn. The performance has been described by many as an emotional roller-coaster. 

Run-Riot: You devised a performance that tackles one of the most complicated contemporary conflicts, a history of a nation and a personal experience. Was it challenging to find a performance in such a complex subject matter, that many have a strong opinion about, without slipping into a one-dimensional narrative?

Nir Paldi: The strength of Ballad is its style. We are listening to three parallel narratives: the story of an Israeli boy called Israel, the story of the Jews and the state of Israel, and the story of the group of actors performing the show for us tonight. I used this multi-layered approach to storytelling to try and convey the complexity of the reality. 

Run-Riot: When you started the development process, Ballad of the Burning Star was a text based one-man show, but it ended up being a bigger scale piece, with an ensemble of dancers and a cabaret set up. Can you tell us more about how the piece evolved?

Nir Paldi: After we made the first draft of the 'one-man show' I felt that there was something too direct and simple about the format that wouldn't do justice to the complex subject matter. I felt I needed a theatrical tool that would distance me from the character on stage and allow greater freedom.  This is when I first thought of creating a drag character - there was something in the freedom to speak about subjects that would otherwise be taboo that really excited me. I then decided to take it a step further and increase her power by giving the character her little army of dancers and actresses.

Run-Riot: How did you approach the autobiographical elements in the performance?  

Nir Paldi: This show is partly based on my life but there are plenty of other Israelis who'd find themselves in this story. The piece deals with a human situation of great internal conflict and this is something we can all identify with no matter where we come from.

Run-Riot: Drag characters (in a theatrical context) are traditionally assertive, brash, commanding and immanently political, which seems potentially good ground on which to explore themes of power, militarism and cover up. How important were all the connotations drag brings, within itself, to the topics you wanted to explore?

Nir Paldi: Extremely important. The drag character can just stand there and say whatever she wants, even if it's the most controversial issue there is. We accept much more from her than we would from a man or woman saying the same thing. This gave me a lot of freedom in the creation process and when performing.    

Run-Riot: Stylistically speaking, Ballad of the Burning Star is a step in a different direction for Theatre Ad Infinitum. What led to this shift and what made you turn to cabaret in particular? 

Nir Paldi: We always try to find the best style to deal with the specific theme we want to tackle. We also love surprising our audiences with each production we create, so they are all very different. I turned to cabaret for the realness - the feeling of things happening right now in front of our eyes, the interaction with the audience and how they respond to them. I wanted people to experience the confusion and the insecurity we experience in the Middle East. I didn't want them to sit safely in their seats and passively watch the show. I wanted them to be part of the event taking place in the room and cabaret is a strong vehicle for this.     

Run-Riot: How much do you think the piece is influenced by the context in which it’s performed - the fact it’s a show by an Israeli author, about Israel, but made in the UK? Would it be a different show if you were creating it in your home country?

Nir Paldi: Like any other show, we made Ballad of the Burning Star to speak to an international audience. So that it doesn’t matter where you’re from, what your cultural background or mother tongue is - you'd still get something out of the performance. In this way, there wouldn't be a difference. However, there is a lot of audience interaction and the reactions we get influence the show very much. I suspect that the reaction to the production would be different from an Israeli audience. 

Run-Riot: You tackled a very complex array of subjects in this show – what do you hope the audience, who might not share you experiences, take from it?

Nir Paldi: I believe that the conflict in the Middle East, although very unique, is also very common in other parts of the world and in history. We can all relate to the idea of conflict, war and trauma. Unfortunately, this is something that is part of being human. I created this show to provoke a dialogue and to expose the complexity of a situation.

Ballad of the Burning Star

BAC

17 Feb - 8 Mar (not 23 Feb & 2 Mar)