The seventh annual Festival of Spoken Ivrit will this year bring “Israel, fun and the Hebrew language” to a more diverse range of audiences than ever before as it tours extensively at venues across London and Cambridge later this month.

Four plays in Hebrew embodying this year’s theme of “Heroes, Heroines and Heroism” will be performed at Jewish community centres, schools and shuls for a total of 82 shows.

Sentenced to Life, an emotive play which tells the true story of Holocaust survivor Avraham Auerbach, whose life “exemplifies the spirit of endurance and hope”, will sometimes be performed in English and will coincide with Holocaust Remembrance Day.

As part of a new initiative this year, supported by Orli Lang of the Israel Engagement Hub, this year’s festival has branched out to include adult audiences as well as youth.

A second play, Champion of Israel, a story about the “triumph of spirit and heroism”, depicts the true-life story of Oren Smadja, an Israeli Olympic medal winner in judo, and will run in various synagogues after first opening at JW3. Smadja became a hero to the Jewish State for a second time in June last year after losing his eldest son who was killed while serving in the IDF in Operation Iron Swords. It is the hope of festival organisers that Smadja himself will be travelling to the UK to join the opening of the festival later this month at the new Hasmonean Boys’ Middle School in Belsize Park alongside Lord Stuart Polack, where he will share his inspiring story and answer questions.

Two plays geared towards younger audiences, The Lion and the Mouse and Peter Pan, Tom’s Superhero, deal with the theme of heroism in age-appropriate and entertaining productions, and will be shown to students aged from nursery to Year Four.

This year’s theme reflects the many “heroic stories that have gradually been revealed to us over the past year – not just on the battlefield, but in every field of life,” according to Tali Tzemach, organiser of the festival.

“Heroism and bravery are not limited to the battlefield. Everyone has an opportunity to be a hero or heroine through acts of kindness, understanding and support, in so many different ways,” she said.

Matan Bar Noy, head of the World Zionist Organisation’s delegation to Europe and the main sponsor of the festival, said this year’s theme was chosen as “a tribute to the generation of heroes dedicating themselves entirely to the future of our nation and the return of the hostages.

“My heartfelt thanks to Tali Tzemach, Ha’Shaa theatre, headteachers, educators, and all the partners from the Jewish community who turned this important initiative from a dream into reality once again this year.”

The Festival of Spoken Ivrit will run from January 26 to February 6 with the aim of bringing audiences closer to Israel. For information and tickets, click here