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Hanoch Levin

Image of Hanoch Levin

Hanoch Levin (1943–1999) was born in Palestine to Holocaust survivors from Poland. He exploded onto the Israeli theater scene in 1968 with his play You, Me and the Next War, a sharp critique of the 1967 Six-Day War. The play was extremely controversial and the run ended when some of the actors refused to play their parts.

Levin continued to make a name for himself by writing and directing plays that critiqued Israeli society. When his denunciation of the Golda Meir administration, The Queen of the Bathtub, opened in 1970, demonstrations again led to a premature closing. As a consequence, Levin withdrew from the public eye and never again gave an interview. He continued writing, however—50 plays in total, 34 of which were produced—and directed many of these plays himself.

Mr. Levin continued working until the very end, holding auditions for his newest play from his hospital bed.
