Nissim Aloni ( he, נסים אלוני, 24 August 1926 – 13 June 1998) was an Israeli playwright and translator.

Biography

Aloni was born Nissim Levi to poor Bulgarian Jewish immigrant parents in Mandate Palestine. His family lived in

Florentin Florentin or Florentín (from Latin ''Florentinus'') can be a given name or surname. It is found as a given name among Romanian, German, French and Spanish speakers. The latter also use it as a surname. People Given name * Florentin Crihălmea ...

, a low-income neighborhood in south Tel Aviv, which later became an inspiration for his work. After graduating from high school, Aloni enlisted in the '' Notrut'', a Jewish militia operating as an auxiliary police force alongside the British. He wrote for the weekly '' BaMahane'', and fought in the

1948 Arab-Israeli War Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

. Following his military service, he was appointed to the editorial board of the periodical ''B'Ayin'' and served as literary editor of ''Ashmoret''. He studied history and French at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In his later years, a stroke left him severely handicapped. He died on 13 June, 1998 at a hospital in Tel Aviv.

Literary career

In 1953, his first play, ''Most Cruel the King'', was produced at the national

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

, creating a stir amongst theatre goers. The play focuses on the figure of Jeroboam. In 1961, Habima produced his play "The King's Clothes", which established him as one of the country's leading playwrights. In 1963, Aloni teamed up with Yossi Banai and Avner Hezkyahu to create the "Seasons Theater", for which Aloni wrote and produced the play ''The American Princess''. From that point onward, Aloni produced all his plays. He also began writing skits for the comedy troupe

Hagashash Hachiver HaGashash HaHiver ( he, הגשש החיוור, ''lit.'' The Pale Tracker) was an iconic Israeli comedy trio. It was also known as the ''Gashashim.'' Its three members were Yeshayahu Levi ("Shaike"), Yisrael Poliakov ("Poli") (deceased) and Gavri ...

, and produced some of their programs, such as ''Cinema Gashash'' and ''Cantata for Shawarma''. Many of his plays involve royalty, such as ''The King's Clothes'', ''The American Princess'', ''The Bride and the Hunter of Butterflies'' (adapted for television by

Ram Loevy Ram Loevy (Hebrew: רם לוי, born August 1, 1940) is an Israeli television director and screenwriter. He has written and directed and documentary films that challenge the status quo on such issues as class conflict, torture, the prison system ...

), ''Edi King''. His other plays include ''The Gypsies of Jaffa'', ''The Revolution and the Chicken'', ''Lukas the Coward'', ''The Raucous Dying'', ''Napoleon Dead or Alive''. Aloni highly esteemed the actress

Hanna Rovina Hanna Rovina ( he, חנה רובינא‎; 15 September 1888 – 3 February 1980), also Robina, was an Israeli actress. She is often referred to as the "First Lady of Hebrew Theatre". Biography Hana Rovina was born in Byerazino, in the Igum ...

, and wrote a play, ''Aunt Liza'', specifically for her to act the lead part. He has also published a collection of prose, ''Notes of a Stray Cat''.

Awards and critical acclaim

* In 1983, Aloni was a co-recipient (jointly with Ozer Rabin) of the Bialik Prize for literature. * In 1992, he became honorary fellow of The Sam Spiegel Film and Television School, Jerusalem. * In 1996, he was awarded 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 stage arts – dramatics.

Works outside of Israel

"The American Princess" was translated from Hebrew to Swedish by Viveka Heiman and then from Swedish to Norwegian by Jens Bjorneboe. It was produced by Oslo city theater Den Nye Theater, directed by Izzy Abrahami. Abrahami convinced the Israeli consul in Oslo to invite Aloni to the premier. Aloni, who reportedly sat next to the Norwegian king, brought Abrahami an original painting by Yosl Bergner as thanks.

Commemoration

In November 2009, a street was named for him in Tel Aviv.Tel Aviv to name street after playwright Aloni
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Published works

Plays

*' (Tel Aviv, 1963) translated as "The American princess" by Richard Flantz () *' (Cruel from all King) (Tel Aviv, 1968) *', a play in two acts (Tel Aviv, 1975) *' (The Bride and the Butterfly Hunter) (Tel Aviv, 1980) *' (Napoleon Alive or Dead) (Tel Aviv, 1993) *' (Aunt Liza) (Tel Aviv, 2000) *' (The Gypsies of Jaffa) (Tel Aviv, 2000) *' (The Emperor's Clothes) (Tel Aviv, 2004)

Literature

*' (Lists of Feral Cat) (Tel Aviv, 1996)

References

External links

Nissim Aloni
at the Institute for the Translation of Hebrew Literature {{DEFAULTSORT:Aloni, Nisim Israeli male dramatists and playwrights Israeli novelists Modern Hebrew writers Israel Prize in theatre recipients Jewish dramatists and playwrights 1926 births 1998 deaths 20th-century novelists 20th-century Israeli dramatists and playwrights People from Tel Aviv Israeli people of Bulgarian-Jewish descent Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni