The Habima Theatre ( he, תיאטרון הבימה ''Te'atron HaBima'', lit. "The Stage Theatre") is the national theatre of Israel and one of the first Hebrew language theatres. It is located in Habima Square in the center of Tel Aviv.

History

Habima was founded by in

Białystok Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area. Białystok is located in the Białystok Up ...

(then in Grodno Governorate, Russian Empire) in 1912. Menahem Gnessin was one of its cofounders and early actors. Because its performances were in Hebrew, invoked the Jewish folk tradition, and dealt with issues of the Jewish people, soon it was banned by Russian authorities, and the theatre troupe was forced to become a travelling one. Beginning in 1918, the theatre operated under the auspices of the

Moscow Art Theatre The Moscow Art Theatre (or MAT; russian: Московский Художественный академический театр (МХАТ), ''Moskovskiy Hudojestvenny Akademicheskiy Teatr'' (МHАТ)) was a theatre company in Moscow. It was f ...

, which some consider its actual beginning. It encountered difficulties under the Soviet government as well, after the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...

. Konstantin Stanislavsky arranged for the mainly Jewish Polish actors to be trained by Yevgeny Vakhtangov. The People's Commissar for Nationalities Affairs, Joseph Stalin, also authorized the theatre's creation. However, the Yevsektsiya attempted to use its influence to cut off state funds to Habima, branding it counter-revolutionary.

International tour

In 1926, the theatre left the Soviet Union to tour abroad, in countries including Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United States.Ivanov, Vladislav (August 10, 2010). �
Habimah
��. '' YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe''. yivoencyclopedia.org. Translated from Russian by I. Michael Aronson; revised by Alice Nakhimovsky and Michael C. Steinlauf. Retrieved 2018-06-05. Their productions met with great success. In 1927, the company split up, with Zemach and some of the actors choosing to stay in the U.S.

Lodz Impact

The theatre staff visited the city of Lodz, and the pre-war photographer and artist Mendel Grossman, photographed the actors and actresses from the wings of the stage. His life was changed as a result of the visit of the theatre.

Establishment in Palestine

Other members of the theatre took the company to Mandate Palestine in 1928.Politzer, Heinz (August 1948).
Habimah in New York: A Great Theater Enters a New Period
". ''Commentary Magazine''. Retrieved 2017-03-06. In the 1928-29 season there, the Habima Players presented two plays, both under the direction of Aleksei Dikiy, from the Moscow Art Theatre. The first production, ''Ha-otsar'' (The Treasure), a translation of Sholem Aleichem's

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...

play ''Der Oytser'', premiered on December 29, 1928. The second production, which premiered on May 23, 1929 in Tel Aviv, was ''Keter David'' (David's Crown), an adaptation by Hebrew writer Isaac Lamdan of ''The Hair of Absalom'' (''Los cabellos de Absalón''), by the 17th-century Spanish dramatist

Calderón Calderón () is a Spanish and Sefardi occupational surname. It is derived from the Vulgar Latin "''caldaria''" ("cauldron") and refers to the occupation of tinker. Calderón, or Calderon, may refer to: * Alberto Calderón, Argentine mathematician ...

. In 1930 the company traveled to Berlin, Germany, where it produced Shakespeare's ''Twelfth Night'', directed by Michael Chekhov, and Karl Gutzkow's ''Uriel Acosta'', under the direction of Alexander Granovski. The company finally settled in Palestine in 1931. In 1945, it built a theatre in Tel Aviv, which it occupied before completion.

National Theatre of Israel

Habima has been officially considered the national theatre of Israel since 1958, the year in which it received the

Israel Prize The Israel Prize ( he, פרס ישראל; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History The Israel Prize is awarded annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state cer ...

for theatre. This was the first year in which the Prize was awarded to an organization. In the 21st century, Habima employs 80 actors, and another 120 staff members work at the complex.

Restoration

In January 2012, the theatre reopened after four and a half years of renovations.Shohat, Zipi (November 21, 2011).
Curtain Rises over Tel Aviv's Newly Renovated Habima Theater
. ''

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner f ...

''. haaretz.com. Retrieved 2017-03-06. Architect

Ram Karmi Ram Karmi ( he, רם כרמי; 1931 – 11 April 2013) was an Israeli architect. He was head of the Tel Aviv-based Ram Karmi Architects company, and is known for his Brutalist architecture, Brutalist style. Biography Ram Karmi was born in Jerusale ...

was commissioned to redesign the historic building. More than NIS 100 million was invested in the makeover, which has added 500 square meters of floor space and three new rehearsal rooms. The building's four auditoriums were completely rebuilt.Habima Architect Tells Critics: 'Kiss My Ass'
(October 11, 2010). ''Haaretz''. haaretz.com. Retrieved 2017-03-06. Each is a different size and color: Rovina is blue and seats 930 people; Meskin is lavender and seats 320; Bertonov (also known as Bamartef) is green and seats 220; and Habima 4 (formerly known as Heineken) is wood panelled and seats 170.

Other theaters

Solomon Stramer Solomon Stramer was the leader of a Yiddish theater troupe founded in Vienna, Austria, but based in Cluj, Romania from 1919 at least until the late 1920s. For a time, his troupe had the exclusive right to perform Yiddish-language theater in Transyl ...

's Yiddish theater troupe in Cluj, Transylvania, Romania in the 1920s was also called ''Habimah.'' ((Emanuel Levy, The Habima: Israel's National Theater. Columbia University Press, 1979).

References

* Levy, Emanuel. The Habima, 1917-1977: A Study of Cultural Nationalism. Columbia University Press, 1979.

External links

Official siteThe tale of habima
{{Authority control Theatres in Tel Aviv Theatre companies in Israel National theatres Jewish theatres Israel Prize in theatre recipients Israel Prize recipients that are organizations Arts organizations established in 1918 1918 establishments in British-administered Palestine Culture in Tel Aviv Tourist attractions in Tel Aviv