Tel Aviv - In what is believed to be the first legal action of its kind in the world, Israel's Haifa Theatre may be hit with a class-action
lawsuit for allowing an actress to smoke on stage as part of her role. The application to have the suit recognised by the
court was filed by
lawyer Amos Hausner, chairman of the National Council for the Prevention of Smoking, on behalf of a fellow lawyer, Einav Avrahami, the Jerusalem Post daily reported Friday.
Avrahami objected to actress Orly Zilberschatz-Bania
smoking on stage for about 30 minutes during a production of David Mamet's "The Old Neighbourhood." Zilberschatz plays the sister of the play's protagonist, and delivers a long monologue, during which she smokes.
According to the report, Haifa Theatre has not denied any of the allegations, but says it should be exempted from observing the no-smoking provision due to its claim of "freedom of expression."
A Haifa Theatre official told the German Press Agency
