Jeff has written a dozen plays for the commercial stage in Hebrew, many oriented towards young adult audiences.
“Nephesh Theatre has been producing Jeff Meshel’s plays for 33 years! Jeff writes from the heart.
His plays have proven so endearing because of the great care and deep understanding of the characters he writes. He has always been a very important component in our repertoire, ensuring quality, while probing challenging issues and extracting very moving responses from our audiences.” – Howard Rypp, Founder and Artistic Director, Nephesh Theatre
16-year-old Irit reluctantly volunteers to visit an elderly Holocaust survivor as part of a school project.
The show has been running for 25 years, over 2,000 shows.
A new production was recently mounted.
“The play brought this hard-hearted critic to tears.” Naomi Dudai ,The Jerusalem Post
A romantic comedy between an idealistic Russian immigrant and a cynical young Israeli man. The show was performed 250 times in its first year and toured in English throughout Canada.
A family drama about the future of the land itself. Benny’s grown children want the family farm to continue, but no one is willing to take it on. The show ran for 5 years for adult audiences in conjunction with the Kibbutz Theater
A girl living in the shadow of her father’s violence. The show ran for 8 years.
A wealthy businesswoman is locked in her cookie factory with an angry employee on Passover eve.
Jeff wrote and directed (“Like a singer-songwriter”) 10 plays with amateur actors, for which he was awarded special recognition from the Israeli Ministry of Education and Culture. He considers these his most creative theatrical endeavors.
“Meshel writes, directs and produces plays taken from the lives of teens. His plays fascinate and inspire youth, educators, parents and theater lovers.” — Ministry of Education and Culture
A comic/dramatic/musical Zionist fantasy. 1988, 7 passengers in a communal taxi are stuck overnight during a desert rainstorm in a shack where they encounter the ghost of a Palmachnik soldier.
Danny has his parents’ house for the weekend, leading to a tragedy and a controversial court case. Based on true events.
A 16-year-old girl finds herself pregnant. Filmed by the Department of Sex Education.
A seriocomic dramatization of Abraham’s travels in Canaan, Genesis Chapters 12-21.
A fantastical comedy about the vagaries of teenage love.
A seditious comedy. The school clown poses as principal during the visit of the inspector.
An environmental punk operetta performed on the dance floor of a discotheque.
In 2021 Jeff was commissioned to write the libretto for a Broadway musical revue for the 40th anniversary show of LOGON, the Light Opera Group of the Negev.
The hospital is closing PPPPPPT (the Pilot Program for the Prevention of Post-Pandemic Psychological Trauma), the last stop for patients socially damaged by endless lockdowns and isolation. How can they be re-sensitized? By Broadway music, of course.
“It was a stroke of genius to connect the Corona pandemic to release from a psychiatric ward. The plot was meaningful and profound.” – Prof. Robert Belmaker, psychiatrist
