Materials for Treatment – Stand-up that digs deep: Extreme situations

Thursday, 10.07.25 | 21:00 | HaMiffal

An evening of stand-up for writers willing to give the stage to the ego, the id, and the superego.

In days when the situation is so extreme, when every edge reveals itself only as the beginning of an even more extreme edge, we feel an urgent need for the responsible adult figure: someone to hold the space, to instill stability within the chaos, to remind us that it’s okay, that it’s normal. In other words – a psychologist.

In the “Materials for Treatment” at the Manofim Festival, four writers will sit one after another on the patient’s chair and remove their defense mechanisms with a stand-up that digs inward.

In our world, it seems that psychological treatment has become, on one hand, a basic necessity for the functioning individual, and on the other hand, a luxury only for the rich – what is left for us if not to laugh at our situation?

On this stage, there is room for every complex, and we will not stop until the woman with the graying hair and scarf says with a polite smile, “We’re out of time.”

(The evening is not meant to replace medical advice, but it is certainly cheaper)

 For over two years, Adi Helman has been hosting writers on a single couch. In “Materials for Treatment,” she invites creators to expose, amuse, and talk about what usually stays within the confines of the clinic, courageously and sensitively bringing the therapeutic conversation to the stage, with a wink. The show, which has previously been presented at HaHanut Theater, Tzavta, and the Israel Festival, touches on places where pain brings a smile and laughter is a bit painful – based on the belief that sometimes instead of repressing, it’s better to laugh.