''Job's Passion'' ( he, יסורי איוב, Ysurei 'Yov) is a play by

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

i playwright

Hanoch Levin Hanoch Levin ( he, חנוך לוין; December 18, 1943 – August 18, 1999) was an Israeli dramatist, theater director, author and poet, best known for his plays. His absurdist style is often compared to the work of Harold Pinter and Samuel Becke ...

, based on the biblical story of Job, combined with elements of Christ's Passion. The play was first staged in April 1981 at The

Cameri Theater The Cameri Theater ( he, התיאטרון הקאמרי, ''HaTeatron HaKameri''), established in 1944 in Tel Aviv, is one of the leading theaters in Israel, and is housed at the Tel Aviv Performing Arts Center. History The Cameri theater was found ...

in Israel, under the direction of Levin himself and starring Yosef Carmon as Job. The first production was criticized since it included a scene of the naked Job crucified through his anus by Roman centurions and left thus for the remainder of the play.

Miriam Glazer-Ta'asa Miriam Glazer-Ta'asa ( he, מרים גלזר-תעסה, born 11 August 1929) is an Israeli former politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Likud between 1981 and 1988, and as Deputy Minister of Education and Culture from 1981 until 198 ...

, Israel's Deputy Minister of Education and Culture at the time, claimed before the

Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...

that the state should not fund theater where, "a naked man is hanging for twenty minutes with his genitals flailing about." Regardless of this criticism, Carmon was awarded the "David's Violin" Prize for his portrayal of Job.

Structure

The play is made up of seven Acts and an epilogue. within each section events are often repeated in cycles of three, thus Job is visited by three groups of beggars, three messengers of poverty, three messengers of death, and finally three friends. :Act I – The Beggars :Act II – The Messengers of Poverty :Act III – The Executors :Act IV – The Messengers of Death :Act V – The Friends :Act VI – The Soldiers :Act VII – The Entertainers :Act VIII – The Dead

Productions

The play has been translated into English, French, German and Swedish. * 1981 - Cameri Theater (

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the ...

, Israel) - directed by Hanoch Levin * 2006 -

Theater for the New City Theater for the New City, founded in 1971 and known familiarly as "TNC", is one of New York City's leading off-off-Broadway theaters, known for radical political plays and community commitment. Productions at TNC have won 43 Obie Awards and the P ...

(

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, New York) - translated by Shay K. Azoulay; directed by David Paul Willinger * 2011 - The Jewish Theater ( Stockholm, Sweden) - directed by Philip Zandén

External links

Job and Jesus Combine to Overcome
- ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' Review of the 2006 production of the play at

. {{Book of Job 1981 plays Israeli plays