Givatayim Theater

History

The deconstructivist building, by architects Bracha Chyutin and Michael Chyutin won the Israeli Rechter Prize for architecture in 1996. The building was designed by the two and was built by Givatayim Municipality via target corportation, the Municipal Economic Company. At first it was called Communal Culture Center, as it was to be its purpose, then Beit Esslingen after the rooms on the top floor served as a hostel for a youth delegation from Esslingen, Germany, who had contributed to the construction of the building by donating money. On 23 July 1998, the building was officially renamed Givatayim Theater.

At the beginning of 2014, David Kigler was appointed substitute director of the theater, after the theater had fallen into debt of 1.5 million shekels. Public and political criticism arose due to the fact that Kigler held the seventh place under the mayor Ran Konik's political party "Our Givatayim".

The theater today

As of today, Givatayim theater includes 3 halls: a large one, a small one named after Arbelli Almozalino (in which one can find few of her dolls from her collection), and a club. There is also a cafe, hostel, and statue garden on the premises. The theater presents the festival of storytellers every year.