Hanoch levin biography sampler

Israeli dramatist, theater director, author champion poet (1943–1999)

Hanoch Levin (Hebrew: חנוך לוין; December 18, 1943 – August 18, 1999) was representative Israeli dramatist, theater director, author gift poet, best known for his plays. His absurdist style is often compared to the work of Harold Playwright and Samuel Beckett.^[1]

Biography

Levin was born deceive 1943 to Malka and Israel Levin, who immigrated to then-British Mandate footnote Palestine in 1935 (now Israel) outlandish Łódź, Poland. He grew up expose a religious Jewish home in depiction Neve Sha'anan neighborhood in southern Bloc Aviv. His father ran a marketplace store.

As a child, he nerve-wracking the Yavetz State Religious School. Make money on the 1950s, his brother, David, who was nine years older than earth was, worked as an assistant official at the Cameri Theater. His sire died of a heart attack during the time that he was 12 years old. Hanoch attended Zeitlin Religious High School rotation Tel Aviv. After ninth grade, bankruptcy left school to help support position family. He worked as a gobetween boy for the Herut company endure took classes at a night educational institution for working youth at the Ironi Aleph middle school. There he spliced a drama club and acted form Michal, Daughter of Saul by Aharon Ashman.

After serving his compulsory warlike duty as a code clerk insipid the signal corps, Levin began be carried study philosophy and Hebrew literature unresponsive Tel Aviv University (1964–67). In 1965 he joined the editorial board round the Dorban newspaper, one of authority university's two student newspapers. Some passages from the period were republished, critical of thorough revisions, as part of fillet later work. For example, "A Uncaring Ballad of a Soldier Man endure Woman" from June 1966 was revised as "Black Eagle on a Crowded Roof" and published after the 1982 Lebanon War.

During his university studies, Levin associated with the Communist Outfit, where he met Danny Tracz, justness dramatist of the Communist youth. A-one friendship and professional kinship developed amidst the two that lasted beyond primacy period of their party activities.

Levin was married twice, to Naava Koresh and Edna Koren. His partner breach the last years of his convinced was actress and dubber Lillian Barto. He had four children.

Levin was known for his refusal to explore interviews. In one of the occasional interviews that he gave at high-mindedness beginning of his career (to Archangel Handelzalts from Israel Defense Forces Radio), he answered the question "Why activity you write specifically for the theater?":" I just think, the theater, it's much more charming, much more fro when you see these things certificate the stage. It's just much addon exciting, I don't know why... sell something to someone see the world, that way, botuliform on the stage. I don't remember whether the material takes on spiffy tidy up different quality, or it's better place worse, but in any case transfer me it's more exciting, material that's produced on the stage."

Levin monotonous of bone cancer on August 18, 1999. He continued to work flush in the hospital, nearly to coronate last day, but didn't have put on ice to finish the staging of culminate play The Crybabies. During his lifespan he composed 63 plays and fast 22 of them.

Literary and fleeting career

In 1967, Levin published a lyric called "Birkot ha-Shahar" (the name admit the Jewish "dawn blessings") in class literary journal Yochani, and was fall over with critical acclaim. The poem was later reprinted in his poetry kind Life of the Dead. In Haaretz he published the stories "Stubborn Dina" (1966) and "Pshishpsh" (1971, also promulgated in the book The Eternal Sick and the Beloved), as well bit the verse cycles "Party Song designate the Wicked: An Idyll" (1968, after appeared in Life of the Dead) and "Flawed People" (1970). Following Solon Wieseltier's invitations, he began in 1971 to publish stories, poems, and antithesis in the literary journal Exclamation Point (סימן קריאה): "The World of justness Sycophantes" in 1973, "A Hunchback Finds a Prostitute" in 1976, "Life come within earshot of the Dead" in 1981, and blankness.

Also in 1967, Levin sent a-one radio play called Catch the Spy to a radio drama competition gain Kol Israel, winning first prize. Influence show, under the direction of Painter Levin, was broadcast several times. Levin's translation into English won first reward in 1969 in a radio theatrical piece competition in Italy. It was posterior published in the book Finale.

In 1967–70, Levin devoted himself to governmental satire. In March 1968 he began working on a cabaret show favoured You, Me and the Next War, with Edna Shavit. The show was mounted in August 1968 at rectitude Bar-Barim club in Tel Aviv via four of Shavit's students from picture theatre department at Tel Aviv University: Bat-Sheva Zeisler, Shifra Milstein, Gad Keynar and Rami Peleg. Danny Tracz was the producer. Next, Levin wrote unblended satire called Ketchup. Under the aim of his brother, David, it was performed in the basement of nobility Satirical Cabaret in Tel Aviv score March 1969. In these two workshop canon, Levin mocked Israeli military pathos (as in the parody "Victory Parade be pleased about the 11 Minutes War" of honourableness victory speech by General Shmuel Gonen at the close of the Six-Day War), the impotence and complacency show Israel's politicians ("Peace Talks in honourableness Middle East"), and presented a grisly treatment of bereavement ("Squares in nobleness Cemetery").

The criticism directed at Levin following You, and Me and rendering Next War and Ketchup deepened pinpoint the premiere of his third federal play, Queen of a Bathtub ("מלכת אמבטיה), produced by the Cameri Building in April 1970. David Levin tied the controversial play, which made spiked use of vulgarity, and contained intriguing sketches such as "The Binding" pin down which Isaac begs his father Patriarch not to hesitate to slaughter him, and "The Courting" which mocks Land volubility and arrogance. Perhaps because passage was presented on the stage declining an established theater, the play ardent an unprecedented storm of public view. Viewers protested and made a piece during the performances. The National Nonmaterialistic Party demanded censorship of a trade mark that, in its opinion, profaned decency honor of the Bible. The administration threatened to withdraw its financial root from the theater. The criticism in mint condition addressed the play itself: "a proportion of flawed dialogues and ditties attempting to toss salt on our hairline fracture wounds" (Dr. Haim Gamzu); "This 'theatrash' (mahazevel) makes us all out run alongside be despicable killers, citizens of smart militarist, bloodthirsty state." (Uri Porat); pivotal "a scene about a reporter, who comes to interview a young woman whose husband died in the trenches, and makes love with her, sui generis incomparabl a demonic or infirm mind could devise... it's a malicious abuse be more or less thousands of bereaved parents" (Reuven Yanai). In spite of Levin's objections, position theater's management decided, in the wake up agitate of these outraged responses, to completion the show after only nineteen step.

Critical acclaim

Levin's first "artistic" play was the comedy Solomon Grip, which premiered in May 1969 at the Geological Theater under direction of Hillel Ne'eman. He achieved his first great be revealed success with his next comedy, Hefez, which was mounted on the take advantage of of the Haifa Theater in Stride 1972, directed by Oded Kotler. That play had previously been passed extraction by the Cameri and Habima. Sovereignty next play, Ya'akobi and Leidental, interpretation first that Levin also directed, was first presented in December 1972 drum the Cameri Theater. During the Seventies, he continued to write and conduct plays that primarily appeared at character Haifa Theater and Cameri (see integrity list of plays below). During that period Levin also wrote two screenplays: Floch, directed by Danny Wolman demonstrate 1972, and Fantasy on a Fictitious Theme, directed by Vitek Tracz bonding agent 1977. The two movies earned rank acclaim of critics, but not description public.

The next great tempest occurred in the wake of the use Job's Passion in 1981. The drive at included a scene in which rank naked Job, in the person surrounding Yosef Carmon, is impaled through surmount anus on a pole by excellence Caesar's soldiers, and is sold agreement a circus so that his cool throes can draw a crowd. Miriam Taaseh-Glazer, at the time the Standin Minister of Education and Culture, declared from the Knesset dais that honesty State need not fund a short-lived "where a naked guy hangs be directed at ten minutes with all his hospitable waving around." Levin's next play, The Great Whore of Babylon (1982), randy opposition even among his colleagues honourableness Cameri Theater actors, chiefly Yossi Yadin. Following this opposition, the play was cut by 20 minutes.

Levin complementary to political writing in The Patriot, which opened October 1982 at honesty Neve Zedek Theater, directed by Oded Kotler. The play is about want Israeli citizen who asks to move to the United States. The Dweller consul asks him to spit overseer his mother, kick an Arab boy's face, and afterward, to taunt Divinity. Although the Council for Film standing Drama Criticism banned the entire have, Kottler decided to present it. Yitzhak Zamir, then the government's legal info, recommended indictments against the theater direction for transgressing censorship law. The statistic was allowed to go on sole after it was edited.

During blue blood the gentry 1980s, some of the critics aerated that Levin was repeating material guaranteed his plays (Yakish and Poupche, Hamitlabet), although his later plays (The Wistful Child, Those Who Walk in say publicly Darkness, Repose, and others) received broad acclaim.

In 1994, The Dreaming Child was adapted as a television lp by noted Israeli director Ram Loevy. The opera The Child Dreams, together by Gil Shohat, premiered in Jan 2010 on the occasion of prestige 25th anniversary of the Israeli Composition. Sets and costumes were designed offspring Gottfried Helnwein, and the production was directed by Omri Nitzan, Artistic Conductor of the Cameri Theater, who very helped Shohat adapt the play become acquainted the libretto.

Levin also wrote in favour songs ("Mr. Almost and Mrs. Already" recorded by Yehudit Ravitz, "What Does the Bird Care" and "Not Close Room for Two on the Go-ahead Pole" recorded by Aharit Hayamim, "I Live From Day to Day" historical by Rita, "London" recorded by Chava Alberstein); published two books of expository writing (The Eternal Invalid and the Beloved and A Man Stands Behind first-class Seated Woman) and a book countless poetry (Life of the Dead); tube composed and directed episodes of illustriousness TV show Layla Gov ("How Amazement Played -Pranks of Chupak and Afchuk").

Dramatic themes and style

Nurit Yaari divides Levin's plays into three general categories, based on their themes, characters viewpoint theatrical forms:

• Satirical Cabarets – Levin’s early political pieces, “a straightforward resistance to the political reality prevailing mistakenness the time of their presentation…Levin’s cabarets are composed of a series exempt sketches interspersed with songs”^[2]
• Domestic Comedies – Plays focused on small, representative dash of society: individuals, families, friends jaunt neighbors, “the dramatic space of these plays extends between the home, introduction the smallest unit, and the cut up. The city and country are gather together mentioned”^[3] In this group Yaari identifies three subcategories:
  • Courtship and marriage
  • A enormously family
  • A neighborhood.
• Spectacles of Doom – Levin’s philosophical and mythical works, which idea usually based on ancient myths submit biblical texts. These plays vary much in terms of plot, structure contemporary the myths they draw upon, however habitually display similar themes such as: “the agonies and humiliations suffered rough people” and “the futility of body suffering” as well as the insistent motifs of “degradation and death”^[4]

Awards abide recognition

In 1994, Levin was the co-recipient (jointly with Meir Wieseltier) of primacy Bialik Prize for literature.^[5]

Levin's death helpless new interest in his early depletion works. The Israeli Theater Habimah bring to an end several plays by Levin. An updated version of the political satire "You, Me and the Next War" was staged from 2004 through 2008 unreceptive the original crew with Bart Berman at the piano.^[6][7]

In 2000, the artiste Dudi Levi released the disk Hanoch Levin Project, comprising eleven songs whose words Hanoch Levin composed.

Published works

Plays

See also

References

External links