Itai Erdal is an award winning lighting designer. He’s also a gifted storyteller who draws on a life fully lived between his birthplace, Jerusalem, and his current home in Vancouver, BC. In How to Disappear Completely, Erdal demonstrates his approach to theatrical lighting while also reflecting on the events that followed his mother asking him to take her life.
In 2000, award-winning lighting designer, Itai Erdal received a phone call telling him his mother was diagnosed with lung cancer and had nine months to live. Erdal promptly travelled to Israel to spend every moment he could with his mother. During that time he shot hours of film and hundreds of pictures, documenting her final days. In this deeply profound yet surprisingly funny theatre piece, Erdal demonstrates his approach to theatrical lighting while also reflecting on the events that followed his mother asking him to take her life. This piece pairs the power of Erdal’s story with the nuanced potency of stage lighting.
Tour history
Chutzpah! Festival (World Premier) 2011 / Vancouver
The Shadbolt Centre 2012 / Burnaby
Factory Theatre 2012 / Toronto
On The Boards 2013 / Seattle, USA
Summerworks Festival 2013 / Toronto
The Stratford Festival 2013 / Stratford
TBA Festival 2013 / Portland, USA
Pivot Festival 2014 / Whitehorse
2b Theatre 2014 / Halifax
Edinburgh Fringe 2014 / Edinburgh, Scotland
Battersea Arts Centre 2014 / London, England
Dublin Fringe 2014 / Dublin, Ireland
Gateway Theatre 2014 / Richmond
Belfry Theatre 2014 / Victoria
Usine C 2015 / Montreal
JW3 2015 / London, England
SICK! Festival 2015 / Manchester & Brighton, England
Mayk, Mayfest 2015 / Bristol
Winnipeg Jewish Theatre 2017 / Winnipeg
Segal Centre for the Arts 2017 / Montreal
Undercurrents Festival 2018 / Ottawa
Tmuna Theatre 2018 / Tel Aviv, Israel
Khan Theatre 2018 / Jerusalem, Israel
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Text - Itai Erdal with James Long, Anita Rochon & Emelia Symington Fedy
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Performer & Lighting Design - Itai Erdal
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Director - James Long
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Sound Design - Emelia Symington Fedy
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Original Composition - Andrea Young
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Projection Design - Jamie Nesbitt
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Remount Projection Design - Corwin Furguson
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Dramaturge - Anita Rochon
Contact for booking
Please contact anita@thechoptheatre.com.
Trailer.
Reviews.
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"As a performer, Erdal appears completely at ease and totally engaging on stage... This is intimate theatre that's astonishingly brave and completely entertaining. How To Disappear Completely inspires us to live like a Parcan (lighting instrument), shining brightly then glowing warmly as we fade to black" - Vancouver Courier
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"How to Disappear Completely is a work of art." - Georgia Straight
