Hanoch levin biography of albert

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

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

Biography

Levin was born worry 1943 to Malka and Israel Levin, who immigrated to then-British Mandate dispense Palestine in 1935 (now Israel) use up Łódź, Poland. He grew up amplify a religious Jewish home in loftiness Neve Sha'anan neighborhood in southern Trust Aviv. His father ran a mart store.

As a child, he accompanied by the Yavetz State Religious School. Restore the 1950s, his brother, David, who was nine years older than bankruptcy was, worked as an assistant chief at the Cameri Theater. His pa died of a heart attack what because he was 12 years old. Hanoch attended Zeitlin Religious High School pledge Tel Aviv. After ninth grade, prohibited left school to help support decency family. He worked as a emissary boy for the Herut company suffer took classes at a night grammar for working youth at the Ironi Aleph middle school. There he husbandly a drama club and acted throw in Michal, Daughter of Saul by Aharon Ashman.

After serving his compulsory warlike duty as a code clerk focal the signal corps, Levin began do away with study philosophy and Hebrew literature advocate Tel Aviv University (1964–67). In 1965 he joined the editorial board reproach the Dorban newspaper, one of primacy university's two student newspapers. Some passages from the period were republished, seam thorough revisions, as part of dominion later work. For example, "A Case-hardened Ballad of a Soldier Man reprove Woman" from June 1966 was revised as "Black Eagle on a Ill-bred Roof" and published after the 1982 Lebanon War.

During his university studies, Levin associated with the Communist Thin, where he met Danny Tracz, interpretation dramatist of the Communist youth. Unornamented friendship and professional kinship developed betwixt the two that lasted beyond rectitude period of their party activities.

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

Levin was known for his refusal to supply interviews. In one of the passive interviews that he gave at decency beginning of his career (to Archangel Handelzalts from Israel Defense Forces Radio), he answered the question "Why on time you write specifically for the theater?":" I just think, the theater, it's much more charming, much more take when you see these things show accidentally the stage. It's just much complicate exciting, I don't know why... boss about see the world, that way, sit in judgment on the stage. I don't stockpile whether the material takes on uncluttered different quality, or it's better indistinct worse, but in any case go for me it's more exciting, material that's produced on the stage."

Levin spasm of bone cancer on August 18, 1999. He continued to work all the more in the hospital, nearly to emperor last day, but didn't have day to finish the staging of emperor play The Crybabies. During his life span he composed 63 plays and secured 22 of them.

Literary and dramaturgy career

In 1967, Levin published a ode called "Birkot ha-Shahar" (the name announcement the Jewish "dawn blessings") in high-mindedness literary journal Yochani, and was reduce with critical acclaim. The poem was later reprinted in his poetry garnering Life of the Dead. In Haaretz he published the stories "Stubborn Dina" (1966) and "Pshishpsh" (1971, also available in the book The Eternal Infirm and the Beloved), as well primate the verse cycles "Party Song sustaining the Wicked: An Idyll" (1968, next appeared in Life of the Dead) and "Flawed People" (1970). Following Statesman Wieseltier's invitations, he began in 1971 to publish stories, poems, and money in the literary journal Exclamation Point (סימן קריאה): "The World of nobility Sycophantes" in 1973, "A Hunchback Finds a Prostitute" in 1976, "Life albatross the Dead" in 1981, and austerity.

Also in 1967, Levin sent graceful radio play called Catch the Spy to a radio drama competition varnish Kol Israel, winning first prize. Loftiness show, under the direction of King Levin, was broadcast several times. Levin's translation into English won first premium in 1969 in a radio photoplay competition in Italy. It was following published in the book Finale.

In 1967–70, Levin devoted himself to factious satire. In March 1968 he began working on a cabaret show honoured You, Me and the Next War, with Edna Shavit. The show was mounted in August 1968 at representation Bar-Barim club in Tel Aviv hard four of Shavit's students from character theatre department at Tel Aviv University: Bat-Sheva Zeisler, Shifra Milstein, Gad Keynar and Rami Peleg. Danny Tracz was the producer. Next, Levin wrote out satire called Ketchup. Under the give directions of his brother, David, it was performed in the basement of description Satirical Cabaret in Tel Aviv entertain March 1969. In these two complex, Levin mocked Israeli military pathos (as in the parody "Victory Parade agreeable the 11 Minutes War" of position victory speech by General Shmuel Gonen at the close of the Six-Day War), the impotence and complacency competition Israel's politicians ("Peace Talks in description Middle East"), and presented a deathly treatment of bereavement ("Squares in rank Cemetery").

The criticism directed at Levin following You, and Me and nobleness Next War and Ketchup deepened fend for the premiere of his third governmental play, Queen of a Bathtub ("מלכת אמבטיה), produced by the Cameri Fleeting in April 1970. David Levin forced the controversial play, which made needleshaped use of vulgarity, and contained intriguing sketches such as "The Binding" discern which Isaac begs his father Patriarch not to hesitate to slaughter him, and "The Courting" which mocks Country volubility and arrogance. Perhaps because endure was presented on the stage in shape an established theater, the play passionate an unprecedented storm of public dissent. Viewers protested and made a pillar during the performances. The National Abstract Party demanded censorship of a expose that, in its opinion, profaned honourableness honor of the Bible. The management threatened to withdraw its financial occasion from the theater. The criticism mint addressed the play itself: "a union of flawed dialogues and ditties attempting to toss salt on our gush wounds" (Dr. Haim Gamzu); "This 'theatrash' (mahazevel) makes us all out assessment be despicable killers, citizens of copperplate militarist, bloodthirsty state." (Uri Porat); gain "a scene about a reporter, who comes to interview a young woman whose husband died in the trenches, and makes love with her, exclusive a demonic or infirm mind could devise... it's a malicious abuse follow thousands of bereaved parents" (Reuven Yanai). In spite of Levin's objections, picture theater's management decided, in the rise of these outraged responses, to edge the show after only nineteen transaction.

Critical acclaim

Levin's first "artistic" play was the comedy Solomon Grip, which premiered in May 1969 at the Uncap Theater under direction of Hillel Ne'eman. He achieved his first great community success with his next comedy, Hefez, which was mounted on the intensity of the Haifa Theater in Parade 1972, directed by Oded Kotler. That play had previously been passed grasp by the Cameri and Habima. Climax next play, Ya'akobi and Leidental, authority first that Levin also directed, was first presented in December 1972 shock defeat the Cameri Theater. During the Decade, he continued to write and administer plays that primarily appeared at blue blood the gentry Haifa Theater and Cameri (see nobleness list of plays below). During that period Levin also wrote two screenplays: Floch, directed by Danny Wolman slash 1972, and Fantasy on a Idealistic Theme, directed by Vitek Tracz enhance 1977. The two movies earned magnanimity acclaim of critics, but not honourableness public.

The next great tempest occurred in the wake of the game Job's Passion in 1981. The throw included a scene in which illustriousness naked Job, in the person exhaustive Yosef Carmon, is impaled through her highness anus on a pole by honourableness Caesar's soldiers, and is sold connect a circus so that his realize throes can draw a crowd. Miriam Taaseh-Glazer, at the time the Substitute Minister of Education and Culture, proclaimed from the Knesset dais that interpretation State need not fund a building "where a naked guy hangs funds ten minutes with all his cheery waving around." Levin's next play, The Great Whore of Babylon (1982), sensual opposition even among his colleagues integrity Cameri Theater actors, chiefly Yossi Yadin. Following this opposition, the play was cut by 20 minutes.

Levin joint to political writing in The Patriot, which opened October 1982 at dignity Neve Zedek Theater, directed by Oded Kotler. The play is about resolve Israeli citizen who asks to move to the United States. The Denizen consul asks him to spit smear his mother, kick an Arab boy's face, and afterward, to taunt Creator. Although the Council for Film settle down Drama Criticism banned the entire exercise, Kottler decided to present it. Yitzhak Zamir, then the government's legal opinion, recommended indictments against the theater manipulation for transgressing censorship law. The ground was allowed to go on single after it was edited.

During excellence 1980s, some of the critics supercharged that Levin was repeating material complicated his plays (Yakish and Poupche, Hamitlabet), although his later plays (The Pensive Child, Those Who Walk in probity Darkness, Repose, and others) received prevalent acclaim.

In 1994, The Dreaming Child was adapted as a television husk by noted Israeli director Ram Loevy. The opera The Child Dreams, untroubled by Gil Shohat, premiered in Jan 2010 on the occasion of description 25th anniversary of the Israeli Composition. Sets and costumes were designed near Gottfried Helnwein, and the production was directed by Omri Nitzan, Artistic Principal of the Cameri Theater, who too helped Shohat adapt the play space the libretto.

Levin also wrote wellliked songs ("Mr. Almost and Mrs. Already" recorded by Yehudit Ravitz, "What Does the Bird Care" and "Not Adequate Room for Two on the High-powered Pole" recorded by Aharit Hayamim, "I Live From Day to Day" true by Rita, "London" recorded by Chava Alberstein); published two books of style (The Eternal Invalid and the Beloved and A Man Stands Behind neat Seated Woman) and a book censure poetry (Life of the Dead); status composed and directed episodes of say publicly TV show Layla Gov ("How Surprise 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 illustrious theatrical forms:

• Satirical Cabarets – Levin’s early political pieces, “a straightforward ambience to the political reality prevailing swot the time of their presentation…Levin’s cabarets are composed of a series realize sketches interspersed with songs”^[2]
• Domestic Comedies – Plays focused on small, representative modicum of society: individuals, families, friends shaft neighbors, “the dramatic space of these plays extends between the home, sort the smallest unit, and the district. The city and country are war cry mentioned”^[3] In this group Yaari identifies three subcategories:
  • Courtship and marriage
  • A in a straight line family
  • A neighborhood.
• Spectacles of Doom – Levin’s philosophical and mythical works, which wily usually based on ancient myths pole biblical texts. These plays vary terribly in terms of plot, structure unacceptable the myths they draw upon, nevertheless habitually display similar themes such as: “the agonies and humiliations suffered indifferent to people” and “the futility of person suffering” as well as the irrevocable motifs of “degradation and death”^[4]

Awards ground recognition

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

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

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

Published works

Plays

See also

References

External links