The classic Israeli play The Spanish Garden, or Bustan Sepharadi, written by former Israeli president Yitzhak Navon, is being performed in Toronto on May 22 and 23 by Mifgash Theatre.

The company is the only Hebrew-speaking theatre troupe in Toronto and is made up of volunteers aged 10 to 70.

The musical, which was first staged in 1969, is set in the Sephardi Ohel Moshe neighbourhood in Jerusalem of the 1930s.

Ohel Moshe, established in 1882,  is one of thea first neighbourhoods that was built outside Jerusalem’s Old City walls. The area was named for Moses Montefiore, a 19th-century philantropist who supported Jewish settlements in Palestine.

The play portrays the vibrant life of the neighbourhood’s residents. Written in Hebrew and the Spanish-Jewish language of Ladino, it focuses on a Sephardi family and is filled with sacred and secular poetry, anecdotes and humour.

The musical, which won the David’s Violin Prize in 1970, has had an impact on the neighbourhood. A park in the Ohel Moshe was officially renamed the Spanish Garden in July 2005.

The play is produced by Tami Berman and directed by Yael Feingold. These two Israeli-Canadian women  said it’s important to show the Toronto community authentic Israeli culture.

“I wish to thank UJA Federation of Greater Toronto and Schwartz-Reisman Centre, and especially Galya Sarner, the director of federation’s Hamifgash program,” Berman said.

“Without the personal support, the place given for rehearsals and the generous budget we are getting, none of this could have been feasible.”

The circumstances of Berman and Feingold’s initial meeting in 2003 illustrate how small the world is. Feingold graduated from the Beit Zvi School of the Performing Arts in Israel in 1977. She moved to Montreal in 1983, and established the the Hebrew Theatre Workshop at the Jewish Public Library in 2000. Berman, on a visit to Montreal, was inspired by an Israeli play directed by Feingold.

In a 2003 letter, an enthusiastic Berman told federation president Ted Sokolsky about her idea to establish a Hebrew-speaking theatre in Toronto. A few months later, Mifgash Theatre was born. “And here we are,” Berman said.

Until 2007, the company imported plays and players from their affiliate in  Montreal, but since 2008, Mifgash Theatre has recruited more players from the Toronto area.

 Berman and Feingold’s dream is that the company will perform for many Israeli and Jewish communities throughout North America.

The Spanish Garden will be presented in Hebrew and Ladino with English surtitles, at the Al Green Theatre, Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre,  on May 22 at 1:30 and 8 p.m. and May 23 at 1:30 p.m. 905-764-7817, www.mifgash.ca