Habima Theatre facts for kids
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תיאטרון הבימה
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Habima Theatre, 2011
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| Address | Habima Square Tel Aviv Israel |
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| Type | National theatre |
| Capacity | Rovina Theatre: 930 seats Meskin Theatre: 320 seats Bertonov Theatre: 220 seats Blanche Rapaport Theatre: 170 seats |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1912 |
| Architect | Oskar Kaufmann, Eugene Stolzer |
| Website | |
| habima.co.il | |
The Habima Theatre (which means "The Stage Theatre" in Hebrew) is the official national theatre of Israel. It is one of the very first theatres to perform plays in the Hebrew language. You can find it in Habima Square in the heart of Tel Aviv.
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History of Habima Theatre
Habima Theatre began in 1912 in a city called Białystok, which was then part of the Russian Empire. It was started by Nahum Lazarevich Tsemakh and a group of friends who loved acting. One of the co-founders and early actors was Menahem Gnessin.
At first, Habima was an amateur group. They performed plays in Hebrew, often telling stories about Jewish traditions and life. Because of this, the Russian authorities soon banned their performances. This forced the theatre group to travel from place to place.
In 1918, the theatre started working with the famous Moscow Art Theatre. Many people consider this the real beginning of Habima. Even after the Russian Revolution, the group faced challenges from the Soviet government. Konstantin Stanislavsky, a famous theatre director, helped the actors get training from Yevgeny Vakhtangov. Joseph Stalin, a powerful leader at the time, also approved the theatre's creation. However, some officials tried to stop government funding for Habima, saying it was against the new government.
Touring the World
In 1926, the theatre left the Soviet Union to perform in other countries. They visited places like Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United States. Their plays were very successful and popular. In 1927, the company split up, and some actors, including Zemach, decided to stay in the U.S.
Settling in Palestine
Other members of the theatre group moved the company to Mandate Palestine in 1928. During the 1928–29 season, the Habima Players put on two plays. Both were directed by Aleksei Dikiy from the Moscow Art Theatre.
The first play was Ha-otsar (The Treasure), which was a Hebrew version of a Yiddish play. It opened on December 29, 1928. The second play was Keter David (David's Crown). This play was based on a Spanish drama from the 1600s. It premiered on May 23, 1929, in Tel Aviv.
In 1930, the company traveled to Berlin, Germany. There, they performed William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night and another play called Uriel Acosta.
The company finally made Palestine their permanent home in 1931. By 1945, they had built their own theatre building in Tel Aviv.
Israel's National Theatre
Habima has been officially recognized as the national theatre of Israel since 1958. In that same year, it received the Israel Prize for theatre. This was special because it was the first time the prize was given to an organization instead of an individual. Today, Habima employs 80 actors and has 120 other staff members working at the theatre complex.
Theatre Building Restoration
In January 2012, the Habima Theatre reopened after being closed for four and a half years for major renovations. Architect Ram Karmi was in charge of redesigning the historic building. Over 100 million Israeli New Shekels (NIS) were spent on the makeover.
The renovation added 500 square meters of space and three new rehearsal rooms. The building's four auditoriums, or stages, were completely rebuilt. Each one is a different size and color:
- Rovina is blue and has 930 seats.
- Meskin is lavender and has 320 seats.
- Bertonov (also known as Bamartef) is green and has 220 seats.
- Habima 4 (formerly Heineken) has wood panels and 170 seats.
See also
In Spanish: Teatro Nacional Habima para niños
- List of Israel Prize recipients
