Playwright Hanoch Levin | ||
Similar JB, God's Favorite, The Caucasian Chalk Cir | ||
Job's Passion (Hebrew: יסורי איוב, Ysurei 'Yov) is a play by Israeli playwright Hanoch Levin, based on the biblical story of Job, combined with elements of Christ's Passion.
Contents
The play was first staged in April 1981 at The Cameri Theater 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 cruicified through his anus by Roman centurions and left thus for the remainder of the play. Miriam Glazer-Ta'asa, Israel's Deputy Minister of Education and Culture at the time, claimed before the Knesset 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 DeadProductions
The play has been translated into English, French, German and Swedish.