A new devised physical theatre piece by Yeda Theatre Productions...

Lasting from April 5, 1992 to February 29, 1996 (1,425 days), the siege of Sarajevo was a prolonged military blockade of Sarajevo, the capital of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, during the ethnically charged Bosnian War. The city was initially besieged by the Yugoslav People's Army, before they were replaced by elements of the newly-formed Army of Republika Srpska. The siege was three times longer than the Battle of Stalingrad and more than a year longer than the siege of Leningrad, making it the longest siege of a capital city in the history of modern warfare.

When the siege began, Sarajevo's Jewish community numbered roughly a thousand people. Many were Holocaust survivors who recognized what was starting. They stayed, and turned their community center into a pharmacy that dispensed medicine without checking ethnic ID cards, a soup kitchen that fed anyone who walked in, a ham radio that carried messages when the phone lines died, and a bus convoy operation that evacuated thousands of Sarajevans, most of who were not Jewish.

Tikkun Olam usually gets translated as repair of the world, and then left there, floating somewhere above the actual world. In Sarajevo this happened in the real, present sense; it looked like counting pills, keeping lists, and loading buses, for four years, without stopping, for whoever showed up.

Yeda Theatre traveled to Bosnia and interviewed the people who ran it, including Jakob Finci, the former president of the Jewish community who led twelve evacuation convoys. Those recorded voices are what created this piece, alongside movement, live violin and accordion, and shadow puppetry.

Through movement, we remember. Through remembering, we act.

Tickets & Donations

Tickets are a sliding scale from $15 to $30, and every seat is the same seat. Pick the price that fits your circumstances, not the one you think you're supposed to pick. We also hold ten NOTAFLOF seats at every performance for anyone who needs one, no questions asked and no form to fill out. We'd rather you come at $15 than not come at all.

Yeda Theatre is a fiscally sponsored project of Fractured Atlas. If you'd like to give beyond the ticket price, tax-deductible donations go through our Fractured Atlas campaign: https://fundraising.fracturedatlas.org/yeda-theatre/campaigns/40ae4997-9856-4905-9d80-f81fb1448646.

Ticket purchases themselves are not tax-deductible.

Credits

Created by Yeda Theatre Productions. Directed by Skye Fort. Assistant Directing by Kara Lieff. Original music and sound design by Josh Levine and Ania Upstill. Stage Management by Laura Schlachtmeyer. Set and Props Design by Gabrielle Bonder. Costume Design by Elizabeth de Lise. Devised and performed by Ania Upstill, Mia Rocchio, Nathaniel Fishburn, Josh Levine, and Danielle Levsky. Graphic design by Nathaniel Fishburn.

Developed with support from the Fooksman Family Foundation. Fiscally sponsored by Fractured Atlas.

Who is Yeda Theatre?

Founded by Danielle Levsky and Josh Levine, Yeda Theatre (יֶדַע, Hebrew for "to know") creates physical theatre that reimagines Jewish storytelling for contemporary audiences. Drawing on techniques from Lecoq, Gaulier, and ancient Jewish performance traditions, the ensemble harnesses the body's expressive potential to convey narrative and emotion beyond words. Through clowning, puppetry, mask work, and movement, Yeda brings forgotten folktales and cultural myths to life, challenging stereotypes and widening the frame of Jewish diasporic experience, from Eastern European folklore to Sephardic histories. Their production The Crone Chronicles played to sold-out houses at PrideArts Chicago and was featured at PhysFestNYC. Yeda Theatre creates performances where cultural memory becomes embodied knowledge.

Access and advisories

The piece deals with war, hunger, and family loss, and includes loud sound design with gunfire and shelling. If you'd like more specific detail before booking, email yedatheatre@gmail.com and we’ll share more details.

Running time: 50 minutes with no intermission; talkback to follow

Venue information

The Deep End Studios is not wheelchair accessible.

Entrance

There are 9 stairs required to enter the studio space.

Restrooms

There are 18 stairs required to reach the bathrooms.

Parking Information

Private Lot: The venue has its own private parking lot right on-site.

Street Parking: There is additional limited street parking around the building, as well as a grassy side yard.

Directions & Transit

The studio is located at 1313 S 33rd St in the Grays Ferry neighborhood.

By Car: It sits on the eastern bank of the Schuylkill River with highly convenient access to I-76 (Schuylkill Expressway).

By Bus: Public transit options drop off right by the building. The 33rd St & Dickinson St Loop and the Reed St & 33rd St bus stops are both steps away from the entrance and offer 24-hour transit access.

Contact the host of Sarajevo Will Be (everything else will pass)

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