Paper Dolls

(Paperback)

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Description

You know, Yossi, we couldnt dress like this in the Philippines wear earrings, dye our hair, put on make up, lipstick. Its forbidden. In Tel Aviv, Israel, a group of Filipino immigrants work as live-in carers for elderly Orthodox Jewish men. Six days a week they provide dedicated support to their employers. But on the seventh day they transform into a homespun, sassy musical drag act. Meet the Paper Dolls! An extraordinary true story exploring an unlikely collision of cultures and the universal desire to find home. Based on Tomer Heymann's award-winning documentary of the same name, Paper Dolls explores changing patterns of global immigration and expanding notions of family through the prism of a community of Filipino transvestites who live illegally in Israel.

Reviews

It has a generosity of spirit that proves raucously beguiling -- Michael Billington * Guardian *
Its a curious confection: part surprising study of cultural contrasts, part affectionate portrait of the world of the drag queen, and part exploration of some knotty ideas about homeland and identity . . . big-hearted . . . ends on an emphatically feel-good note. -- Henry Hitchings * Evening Standard *
A pacey but poignant play * The Sunday Times *
Philip Himberg tells a remarkable tale of strangers in a troubled land, of makeshift family and unexpected tenderness -- Sarah Hemming * Financial Times *
Beautiful both achingly intimate and rich in universal themes * The Times *

Author Bio

Philip Himberg is the Producing Artistic Director of the Sundance Institute Theatre Program and serves on the Board of Directors at Theatre Communications Group. He has previously served as an adjunct professor of Theatre at NYU/Tisch and also teaches at Yale School of Drama.