Like Me | Review

The youth ward of a mental health center in Tel Aviv invites five teenagers to participate in a theater course as part of their therapeutic journey. After overcoming initial hesitations, something shifts in them. Based on a true story, this play pays extraordinary attention to language. The five teenagers, for instance, are not hospitalized patients with psychiatric problems: "The kids. I prefer 'kids.'" Or again: "'What's wrong with her?' 'Oh, that's a question I don't like. (…) It's not a diagnosis that defines a person—it's the person who defines the diagnosis.'" In a world of absent adults, in a frantic and distracted society, real listening and presence begin right here. With words.