As Israel begins to open up after the second wave lockdown, humans are itching for connection, creativity, and community. When Nimrod Danishman discovered that his play, which had already been on stage in Israel and the United States, needed to be canceled, he decided to create a new category of theater; one that moved the experience online. “Borders” stars two men who fall in love in Grindr, a dating app for the LGBTQ+ community which uses geolocation to connect interested parties.
The two men were only a few hundred meters away from each other, one in Israel and one just across the border in Lebanon. The play fit perfectly into the online space as it was already based on texting and technology, today’s biggest dating tools. Viewers can download the Telegram app and follow the conversation between the two men, who start a relationship which provides insights into the challenges of dating today, layered with differing cultures despite neighboring homes.
The online play was performed live over 3 days during the “Theatre of Uncertainty 2020,” an international collection of theatre people that took place mid-October, organized by EVE, an Israeli nonprofit independent theatre organization.
