Israeli actor/ director Roy Horovitz is currently performing in the immensely successful The Timekeepers, a complex exploration of the nature of survival during the Holocaust,  which is now on at the Old Mutual Theatre On The Square in Sandton until July 24. Along with The Timekeepers, Roy is also currently performing in My First Sony, a touching look into the mind of a precocious 11 year-old boy, which recently played at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown and in Port Elizabeth. This particular production is celebrating its 13th year on stage both locally and internationally.
In this interview Roy gives Adam J. Levin more insight into the world of The Timekeepers and the challenges faced in bringing this production to the stage.

Give us a bit of background on the conception of The Timekeepers
The Timekeepers had its world premiere in London at the Old Red Lion Theatre in 2001. It was written by Dan Clancy, an American playwright, who amazingly wrote the play within two weeks, it was as if he vomited it out. The trigger for writing the play was, if I remember correctly, a book he read which was written by a Holocaust survivor who worked as a jeweler during this time. He was, subsequently, captured by the Nazis and was involved in the process of manufacturing jewels for them. Dan Clancy was struck by the image of this man working in an isolated room and continuing his daily routine amidst the horror that was happening around him. He "walked the land" with this for a couple of weeks, and we finally sat down to write the play, this became the central image of the piece. The additional characters of Hans and Capo were added after that.

How did you get involved with the production?
Lee Gilat, the director of the Israeli version of The Timekeepers, was working as an assistant director in London when she met kept in touch with the artistic director of the Old Red Lion. At this time, the show's run only lasted two weeks in London. He contacted Lee in Israel and told her that though the show didn't do great in London, he thought it may do well in Israel. He sent her the script and she contacted me. We ended up sitting in a café and reading through the script. After we were done, we both took a deep breath and I said "I can smell the premiere". Since then I've performed in the production for, what is now, 8 years.

As an actor, what is it that appeals to you about The Timekeepers?
I know actors often say this but here it is really the case that the play is a gift from the playwright. This is very generous material. Some people have had an issue with the fact that my character Hans, a gay prisoner, is portrayed as being effeminate. I think though that the advantage of him being written this way is that it makes his relationship with Benjamin more complex. It challenges the prejudices of both Benjamin and the audience. And, of course, this is only the beginning. At the last scene, he gets the chance to play it "Clint Eastwood's way".

You have performed this play in both English and Hebrew. What are the challenges and advantages of performing the play in English?
Well, performing in English is more difficult because it's a second language to us. One of the advantages of performing in English though is that it allows our accents to come across more strongly. The characters in The Timekeepers are supposed to be German and because the Israeli accent is often confused with this and a number of other European accents, it makes the production more authentic.

Has the rehearsal process for this production been more challenging than the one you have experienced with other productions?

Not really. We had the standard two months rehearsal period and everything went relatively smoothly. In terms of researching the characters, Rami Baruch, the original actor who played Benjamin, went to a watchmaker in order to observe his technique. Most of what we needed as actors though was already in the text.

How have South African audiences reacted to the play so far? How do their reactions differ to those of other audiences you have performed for?
We have been playing to full houses and we've been receiving a very positive response. Our experience in the other countries we have performed in has been similar. Initially we were very worried about how German audiences would receive us. Luckily though they have been just as positive as the other audiences.

Besides The Timekeepers, you have also been performing in My First Sony for the last 13 years. What challenges did you initially face when you first portrayed Yotam, the 11 year-old protagonist of this play?
Well I was 25 years old when I first performed in My First Sony and my biggest problem was that I had forgotten how to be an 11 year-old boy. During my earlier rehearsals the director said to me "What are you doing? You're playing Yotam like he is retarded!". So I found a chubby 11 year-old who reminded me of Yotam and I followed him around for a couple of days for inspiration. That was very helpful. A lot has changed since I first performed My First Sony because back then I myself was quite chubby. I lost the weight to play Hans in The Timekeepers. I like to joke that when I need to lose weight I do The Timekeepers.

What are you working on next?
I've just started rehearsing another play by Dan Clancy, Volunteer Man, in which I do both acting and directing. It will probably be part of Grahamstowm Festival next year. I'll also do a run of My First Sony at the Old Mutual Theatre on the Square soon, so we'll meet again ,it's "only the beginning of a wonderful friendship..."

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