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Hanoch Levin

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Hanoch Levin

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1943-12-18 （Jaffa, Mandatory Palestine）
Died
1999-08-18 （Tel Aviv, Israel） age 55
Nationality
Israeli
Languages
Hebrew
Religion
Judaism (religious background)
Residence History
Grew up in Neve Sha'anan, Tel Aviv → Resident of Tel Aviv

Career

Occupations
playwright, theatre director, author, poet
Active Years
1965-1999
Memberships
Communist Party of Israel (associated in youth)
Influenced By
Harold Pinter (often compared), Samuel Beckett (often compared)
Influenced
Contemporary Israeli playwrights and directors

Education

Tel Aviv University
Faculty of Humanities (philosophy & Hebrew literature) / Philosophy and Hebrew literature
Period: 1964–1967
Year of Graduation: 1967
Country: Israel
Studied philosophy and Hebrew literature; involved in student newspaper editorial work.

Awards

Bialik Prize
1994
Work: Contribution to Hebrew literature
Category: 文学
Organization: Tel Aviv Municipality (Bialik Prize)
Result: 受賞（共同受賞：メイル・ヴィーゼルタイア）

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Solomon Grip

1969 play

An early theatrical work by Levin, a comedy staged in the theatre.

satireeveryday interpersonal relationships

Hefez

1972 play

A comedy that premiered at the Haifa Theater and achieved significant success.

civic lifehumor

Job's Passion

1981 play (mythic/biblical motifs)

A work based on the biblical Book of Job, containing provocative and controversial scenes.

religious motifssuffering and humiliationabsurdity

The Dreaming Child

play

A play with allegorical and mythic elements concerning a child. Adapted as a TV film and later into an opera.

allegoryloss and dreamshuman dignity
Adaptations
  • [television film] The Dreaming Child (TV film) / ラム・ロエヴィ (Ram Loevy) (1994)
  • [opera] The Child Dreams (opera) / オムリ・ニッツァン（演出補助・舞台化協力） (2010)

Bibliography

  • Solomon Grip (1969)
  • Hefez (1972)
  • Job's Passion (1981)
  • Life of the Dead (poetry collection)
  • The Eternal Invalid and the Beloved (prose)

Adaptations

  • The Dreaming Child — 1994 television film (dir. Ram Loevy)
  • The Child Dreams — 2010 opera (composer: Gil Shohat)

Translations of Works

  • Some radio plays (e.g. Catch the Spy) were translated into English; Levin's translation won first prize in an Italian radio drama competition in 1969.

Style & Themes

Literary Style
absurdist dramasatirical expressionblack humorspectacles drawing on biblical and mythic material
Recurring Motifs
humiliationdeath and losscollapse of human dignitysocial degradation

Health

  • bone cancer
    1990年代〜1999年（没年）
    He continued to work through illness until near his death; some productions remained unfinished.

Legacy

Hanoch Levin is one of Israel's leading playwrights; his satirical and absurdist works greatly influenced Israeli theatre. Controversial in life, his plays were re-evaluated after his death and adapted for TV and opera.

Museums

  • Memorial sign for Hanoch Levin on his house Tel Aviv

Archives

  • National Library of Israel (holds photographs and related collections)
  • Institute for Translation of Hebrew Literature author archive

In Popular Culture

  • In 2000 Dudi Levi released the album 'Hanoch Levin Project' featuring songs with Levin's lyrics.

Quotes

  • “I just think, the theater, it's much more charming, much more involving when you see these things on the stage. ... for me it's more exciting, material that's produced on the stage.”
    Source: Early interview for Israel Defense Forces Radio (Michael Handelzalts)

Trivia

  • Composed/wrote 63 plays in his lifetime and directed 22 of them.
  • Known for refusing to give interviews.
  • His father died of a heart attack when Hanoch was 12.
  • Co-recipient of the Bialik Prize in 1994 (joint with Meir Wieseltier).