The First Greek Drama on the Hebrew Stage: Tyrone Guthrie'sOedipus Rexat the Habima

Abstract

On the Hebrew Stage, Greek and Roman drama was never a first priority, The Habima Theatre, from its inception in 1917 to the present day, staged only six classical productions (out of more than four hundred), the Cameri Theatre – four, the Haifa Municipal Theatre – five, the Ohel theatre, in all of its forty-four years of activity (1925–69), although it staged 163 plays, never found the need or drive to produce a Greek or a Roman drama, and the young Beer-Sheba Theatre, the last addition to Israel's theatrical establishment, although daring and innovative, has yet to venture into the classical world. The reasons are not far to seek, and there are weighty local reasons in addition to the general cultural factors, which have contributed to the scarcity of classical drama productions. Hellenism and Hellenization, according to the view held even today by some educated and secular Israelis, are not neutral entities. The terms themselves are polemic, connote cultural assimilation, and stand for departure from national Jewish values and the forfeit of cultural originality and independence. From the times of the Hebrew Enlightenment movement, however, classical languages and culture became an integral part of the curriculum of Jewish studies even in religious institutions of higher learning, such as the Bar-Ilan University. On the other hand, as a reaction to the classical culture becoming an embodiment of secular, anti-clerical Zionist renaissance, the extreme Orthodox establishment in contemporary Israel has continued to treat it as a dangerous desecration and even extended the derogatory use of the term ‘Hellenization’ to cover the entire Western cultural influence. As a result until today classical literature has only a marginal place in the high-schools' curriculum, it is not an immediate, and certainly not the most important source from which Hebrew writers and playwrights draw their inspiration, and even well educated spectators have at best only a very superficial knowledge of the classical heritage. The few classical plays produced on the Hebrew stage were chosen at random, chiefly because leading or popular directors insisted on directing a certain play, or because a play, which achieved success in Europe, was transplanted lock, stock and barrel to Israel, sometimes together with its director.