Embarrassment reveals itself in moments of lost control—when an attempt to conceal fails and something is exposed. It flourishes in the gap between what I think of myself, what I think others think of me, and what they actually think.

When director Romeo Castellucci was asked why he doesn’t act in his own plays, he answered:
“Being an actor is the hardest profession in the world—you are always naked, in the wrong place at the wrong time, and everyone is watching you while you do it.”

In BLUSH, the puppets are the ones naked, in the wrong place—and not us. And yet, somehow… we are too.

Itim Ensemble presents a new production led by Gony Paz, using a wide range of materials, sculpting techniques, photography, and puppet animation to trace the bodily sensations and reactions of hiding and revealing. With playful, almost childlike innocence, we explore embarrassment, intimacy, and the vulnerability of both puppet and puppeteer—the one “hiding” behind.

Created by: Gony Paz
Performed by: Zvi Sahar, Itamar Banai, and Gony Paz
Co-creator: Yousef Sweid
Artistic Director: Zvi Sahar
Dramaturgy & Lighting Design: Yair Segal
Music & Sound: Fey Shapiro
Live Music: Ziv Greenberg
Set and Puppet Design: Gony Paz
Visual Consulting: Rotem Blum
International Representation: Dalit Itai – as:is presenting arts

Premiered with the support of Mifal HaPais, at the Tmuna Festival 2019 and BAFF Festival (Switzerland), with the generous help of Westflügel Theater Leipzig.