Shlomo Bar-Aba is a comedian and theatre, film, and television actor. Bar-Aba started out in the IDF’s musical group, Lehakat Pikud Merkaz (‘The central command band’) where he sang the lead on the group’s hit single, Hamelaveh (‘the escort’). Following his military service, Bar-Aba studied at Tel Aviv University’s Department of Theatre Arts. His first steps in theatre saw him join a Haifa Theatre company led by theatre director and acting teacher, Nola Chilton who would later start a social theatre in the northern town of Kiryat Shmona. Other members of the Chilton company included Moni Moshonov, Sandra Sade, Arnon Zadok, Dalik Wollinitz, and many others. In 1978, Bar-Aba joined the cast of a new, recently-commissioned TV sketch comedy show named Zehu Ze! (‘that’s it). His time on the programme saw him create the fan favourite, cult character of Yatzek (In 2020, following the COVID-19 outbreak, Bar-Aba and his castmates reunited for a Zehu Zeh! revival series).
Bar-Aba has also appeared regularly on a variety of top Israeli theatre stages, including Habima Theatre, Haifa Theatre, and the Cameri Theatre. At the same time, he began performing a number of variety shows with his friend and peer, Moni Moshonov. Bar-Aba’s other television credits include fictional Channel 2 TV interstitial presenter, Bruno, the series Uri and Ella, PMTA, Stockholm, The New Black (aka Shababniks), and many more. Highlights of his film credits include Paratroopers (Judd Ne’eman, 1977), The Megillah 83 (Ilan Eldad, 1983), Fictitious Marriage (Haim Bouzaglo, 1988), Hill Start (Oren Shtern, 2014), and Love in Suspenders (Yohanan ‘Jorge’ Weller, 2019). Bar-Aba’s role in Joseph Cedar’s Footnote (2011), won him an Ophir Award for Best Lead Actor.
