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Vakhtangov's The Dybbuk

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 December 2021

Pearl Fishman*
Affiliation:
NYU, George Mason University

Extract

Habimah, Israel's National Theatre, was born in the midst of the great upheaval of the Russian Revolution. In 1917, under the inspiring leadership of Nachum Zemach, the first group of 12 actors began training for the attainment of their goal—the establishment of a professional repertory theatre group to perform in Hebrew. They formed their theatre as a collective officially called “The Mutual Society, Ltd.” in which all had equal privileges and obligations. It was their hope that this dramatic group would be part of the process of national rebirth in Palestine.

From 1918 until 1924, at a time when Hebrew was considered a “counter revolutionary” language and Zionists were being arrested by the hundreds, Habimah's repertoire consisted of plays dealing with Jewish subjects, giving dramatic expression to the traditions and aspirations that nourished the Russian Zionist movement.

Type
Jewish Theatre Issue
Copyright
Copyright © 1980 The Drama Review

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Footnotes

She acknowledges the assistance of the Archives of Nachum Zemach (sketches by Nathan Altman and photographs), the Habimah Archives (photographs), Benjamin Zemach, Yaakov Rafalowitch, Ettie, Dahlia Friedland, Linda Ashton, Mickey Sekler and Chuck Pope.

References

Title photo: In Memory of Chana Rovina, 1889-1980.