Yehoshua Sobol
Encyclopedia
Joshua Sobol, also known as Yehoshua Sobol (יהושע סובול) (born in Tel Mond
in 1939), is an Israeli playwright, writer, and director at theatres in Israel and abroad.
He is married to Edna, set and costume designer. They have a daughter, Neta, and a son, Yahli (who is a well-known singer and writer).
Sobol studied at the Sorbonne
, Paris, and graduated with a diploma in philosophy
. His first play was performed in 1971 by the Municipal Theatre in Haifa
, where Sobol worked from 1984 to 1988 as a playwright and later as assistant artistic director. The performance of his play The Jerusalem Syndrome
, in January 1988, led to widespread protests across the whole country, whereupon Sobol resigned from his post as artistic director and turned to devoting himself exclusively to writing.
.
Between 1983 and 1989 Sobol wrote three related plays: Ghetto
, Adam and Underground, which constitute together The Ghetto triptich.
Ghetto became world famous shortly after its premiere in Haifa in May 1984. The play won the Israeli David's Harp award for best play. The Israeli opening was followed by Peter Zadek
's much acclaimed German premiere of the play in July of the same year. The play and the production were chosen by Theater Heute as best production and best foreign play of the year. The play has been translated into more than 20 languages and performed by leading theatres in more than 25 countries throughout the world.
Following Nicholas Hytner
's production of the English-language version by David Lan
at the Royal National Theatre
of Great Britain in 1989, the play won the Evening Standard
and the London Critics award for Best Play of the Year and was nominated for the Olivier Award in the same category.
Since 1995, Sobol has collaborated with Viennese director Paulus Manker
on a number of projects exploring new forms of the theatrical experience.
In 1995 came the first performance of a work commissioned for the Wiener Festwochen (Vienna Festival), Der Vater (The Father), by Niklas Frank and Joshua Sobol, directed by Paulus Manker
at the Theater an der Wien. The play is about Niklas Frank‘s father, Hans Frank
, who was Hitler
’s Governor general in Poland and was hanged in Nuremberg
in 1946.
In 1996, they created Alma
for the Wiener Festwochen. Alma is a polydrama based on the life of Alma Mahler-Werfel. It played in Vienna
for six successive seasons and toured to Venice
, Lisbon
, Los Angeles, Berlin, Jerusalem and Prague
. In the Vienna production, the scenes of Alma’s life were performed simultaneously on all floors and in all rooms of a former Jugendstil sanatorium near Vienna. The guests were invited to abandon the immobilized position of spectator in a conventional drama, replace it with the mobile activity of traveller, thus partaking in a "theatrical journey". By choosing the events, the path, and the person to follow after each event, each participant constructed her or his personal version of the "Polydrama".
In 2000, Sobol and Manker created F@LCO – A CYBER SHOW, a multimedia musical about the Austrian pop singer Falco
. Staged in the former Varieté theatre Ronacher in Vienna, F@LCO offered the audience a choice between a more expensive, passive ticket for the boxes or the balconies, from which spectators could only watch the show from distance, or a cheap, active ticket on the floor, close to the rostrum (in the shape of @, the Internet at symbol) on which the show was performed. This position allowed the active spectator to move around during the show, dance and buy drinks at the bars installed under the catwalks.
In 2005, he was voted the 185th-greatest Israeli of all time, in a poll by the Israeli news website Ynet
to determine whom the general public considered the 200 Greatest Israelis.
Tel Mond
Tel Mond is a town in the Israeli Sharon region, located east of Netanya and north of Kfar Sava.-History:Tel Mond was founded in 1929 by Sir Alfred Moritz Mond, later known as Lord Melchett, a former British minister and president of the British Zionist Federation...
in 1939), is an Israeli playwright, writer, and director at theatres in Israel and abroad.
He is married to Edna, set and costume designer. They have a daughter, Neta, and a son, Yahli (who is a well-known singer and writer).
Education and early career
- 1961–62 Oranim Academic College, Israel, Literature and History
- 1965–69 The SorbonneUniversity of ParisThe University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
, Paris, A degree in Philosophy - 1969–70 Ecole Nationale d’Informatique, Paris, Analyse de Conception
Sobol studied at the Sorbonne
Sorbonne
The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
, Paris, and graduated with a diploma in philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
. His first play was performed in 1971 by the Municipal Theatre in Haifa
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
, where Sobol worked from 1984 to 1988 as a playwright and later as assistant artistic director. The performance of his play The Jerusalem Syndrome
Jerusalem syndrome
The Jerusalem syndrome is a group of mental phenomena involving the presence of either religiously themed obsessive ideas, delusions or other psychosis-like experiences that are triggered by a visit to the city of Jerusalem...
, in January 1988, led to widespread protests across the whole country, whereupon Sobol resigned from his post as artistic director and turned to devoting himself exclusively to writing.
International career
Sobol's international career started in 1983 with the Haifa production of his play Weininger's Night (The Soul of a Jew), which was invited to participate in the official part of the Edinburgh FestivalEdinburgh Festival
The Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for many arts and cultural festivals that take place in Edinburgh, Scotland each summer, mostly in August...
.
Between 1983 and 1989 Sobol wrote three related plays: Ghetto
Ghetto (play)
Ghetto is a play by Israeli playwright Joshua Sobol about the experiences of the Jews of the Vilna Ghetto during Nazi occupation in World War II. The play focuses on the Jewish theatre in the ghetto, incorporating live music and including as characters historical figures such as Jacob Gens, the...
, Adam and Underground, which constitute together The Ghetto triptich.
Ghetto became world famous shortly after its premiere in Haifa in May 1984. The play won the Israeli David's Harp award for best play. The Israeli opening was followed by Peter Zadek
Peter Zadek
Peter Zadek was a German theatre and film director, play translator and screenwriter and is regarded as one of the greatest directors in German-speaking theater. He was the head of the Schauspielhaus Bochum, Bochum , the Deutsches Schauspielhaus, Hamburg and the Berliner Ensemble from 1992 to 1996...
's much acclaimed German premiere of the play in July of the same year. The play and the production were chosen by Theater Heute as best production and best foreign play of the year. The play has been translated into more than 20 languages and performed by leading theatres in more than 25 countries throughout the world.
Following Nicholas Hytner
Nicholas Hytner
Sir Nicholas Robert Hytner is an English film and theatre producer and director. He has been the artistic director of London's National Theatre since 2003.-Biography:...
's production of the English-language version by David Lan
David Lan
David Lan is an English playwright, filmmaker and theatre director.Born in Cape Town, South Africa in 1952, he emigrated to London in 1972. Since 2000 he has been artistic director of the Young Vic theatre in London's South Bank.-Career:...
at the Royal National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
of Great Britain in 1989, the play won the Evening Standard
Evening Standard
The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...
and the London Critics award for Best Play of the Year and was nominated for the Olivier Award in the same category.
Since 1995, Sobol has collaborated with Viennese director Paulus Manker
Paulus Manker
Paulus Manker is an Austrian film director and actor, as well as an author and screenplay writer.Manker is considered one of the most maverick German-speaking actors, and polarizes public opinion like scarcely no other...
on a number of projects exploring new forms of the theatrical experience.
In 1995 came the first performance of a work commissioned for the Wiener Festwochen (Vienna Festival), Der Vater (The Father), by Niklas Frank and Joshua Sobol, directed by Paulus Manker
Paulus Manker
Paulus Manker is an Austrian film director and actor, as well as an author and screenplay writer.Manker is considered one of the most maverick German-speaking actors, and polarizes public opinion like scarcely no other...
at the Theater an der Wien. The play is about Niklas Frank‘s father, Hans Frank
Hans Frank
Hans Michael Frank was a German lawyer who worked for the Nazi party during the 1920s and 1930s and later became a high-ranking official in Nazi Germany...
, who was Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
’s Governor general in Poland and was hanged in Nuremberg
Nuremberg
Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
in 1946.
In 1996, they created Alma
Alma (play)
Alma is a play by Israeli writer Joshua Sobol based on the life of Alma Mahler-Werfel. It opened 1996 in Vienna."Alma" is the story of Alma Mahler-Werfel, the famous femme fatale and muse to many geniuses. She was the wife of composer Gustav Mahler, also married to architect Walter Gropius and...
for the Wiener Festwochen. Alma is a polydrama based on the life of Alma Mahler-Werfel. It played in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
for six successive seasons and toured to Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, Los Angeles, Berlin, Jerusalem and Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
. In the Vienna production, the scenes of Alma’s life were performed simultaneously on all floors and in all rooms of a former Jugendstil sanatorium near Vienna. The guests were invited to abandon the immobilized position of spectator in a conventional drama, replace it with the mobile activity of traveller, thus partaking in a "theatrical journey". By choosing the events, the path, and the person to follow after each event, each participant constructed her or his personal version of the "Polydrama".
In 2000, Sobol and Manker created F@LCO – A CYBER SHOW, a multimedia musical about the Austrian pop singer Falco
Falco (musician)
Johann Hölzel , better known by his stage name Falco, was an Austrian pop and rock musician and rapper. He had several international hits: "Der Kommissar", "Rock Me Amadeus", "Vienna Calling", "Jeanny", "The Sound of Musik", "Coming Home " and posthumously, "Out Of The Dark"...
. Staged in the former Varieté theatre Ronacher in Vienna, F@LCO offered the audience a choice between a more expensive, passive ticket for the boxes or the balconies, from which spectators could only watch the show from distance, or a cheap, active ticket on the floor, close to the rostrum (in the shape of @, the Internet at symbol) on which the show was performed. This position allowed the active spectator to move around during the show, dance and buy drinks at the bars installed under the catwalks.
In 2005, he was voted the 185th-greatest Israeli of all time, in a poll by the Israeli news website Ynet
Ynet
Ynet is the most popular Israeli news and general content website. It is owned by the same conglomerate that operates Yediot Ahronot, the country's secondleading daily newspaper...
to determine whom the general public considered the 200 Greatest Israelis.
Playwright
year – play & world premiere- 1971 THE DAYS TO COME – Haifa Municipal Theatre
- 1973 STATUS QUO VADIS – Haifa Municipal Theatre
- 1974 SYLVESTER 72 – Haifa Municipal Theatre
- 1975 THE JOKER – Haifa Municipal Theatre
- 1976 The Night of the Twentieth (Hebrew: ליל העשרים) Haifa Municipal Theatre
- 1976 NERVES – Haifa Municipal Theatre
- 1977 TENANTS – Haifa Municipal Theatre
- 1977 GOG & MAGOG SHOW – Zavta Cultural Club, Tel Aviv
- 1977 REPENTANCE – Zavta Cultural Club, Tel Aviv
- 1978 HOMEWARD ANGEL – HabimaHabima TheaterThe Habima Theatre , is the national theatre of Israel and one of the first Hebrew language theatres. It is located in Habima Square in the center of Tel Aviv.-History:...
- 1979 WEDDING NIGHT – Habima
- 1980 THE LAST WORKER – Beit Leissin Theatre, Tel Aviv
- 1981 WARS OF THE JEWS – Jerusalem Khan Theatre
- 1982 WEININGER'S NIGHT – Haifa Municipal Theatre
- 1984 GHETTOGhetto (play)Ghetto is a play by Israeli playwright Joshua Sobol about the experiences of the Jews of the Vilna Ghetto during Nazi occupation in World War II. The play focuses on the Jewish theatre in the ghetto, incorporating live music and including as characters historical figures such as Jacob Gens, the...
(Hebrew: גטו) Haifa Municipal Theatre; FREIE VOLKSBUHNE, Berlin - 1984 PASODOBLE – Zavta Cultural Club, Tel Aviv
- 1985 PALESTINIAN GIRL – Haifa Municipal Theatre
- 1986 COUNTDOWN – Zavta Cultural Club, Tel Aviv
- 1987 Jerusalem Syndrome (Hebrew: סינדרום ישרולים) – Haifa Municipal Theatre
- 1989 ADAM – Habima
- 1991 UNDERGROUND – YALE REP. NEW HAVEN, USA
- 1991 SOLO – DE APPEL – THE HAGUE; Habima
- 1991 A&B – DortmundDortmundDortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....
- 1991 EYE TO EYE – MannheimMannheimMannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
(1994) - 1992 RING TWICE – Royal National Theatre, OsloOsloOslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
1997 - 1993 NICE TONI – DÜSSELDORFER SCHAUSPIELHAUS, June 1994
- 1993 LOVE FOR A PENNY – ISRAELI YIDDISH THEATRE, 1994
- 1993 SCHNEIDER AND SHUSTER – BASEL 1994; Gorki Theater, Berlin
- 1994 THE MASKED BALL – Haifa Municipal Theatre (2001)
- 1994 BLOODY NATHAN – Volkstheater Wien, Vienna, 1996
- 1995 THE FATHER Wiener Festwochen, 1995.
- 1995 VILLAGE – Gesher Theatre, Tel Aviv (February 1996)
- 1996 ALMAAlma (play)Alma is a play by Israeli writer Joshua Sobol based on the life of Alma Mahler-Werfel. It opened 1996 in Vienna."Alma" is the story of Alma Mahler-Werfel, the famous femme fatale and muse to many geniuses. She was the wife of composer Gustav Mahler, also married to architect Walter Gropius and...
– Vienna Festival Week, ViennaViennaVienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
(1996) - 1996 Honey (Hebrew: דבש) Haifa Municipal Theatre (1997)
- 1997 MA NI MA MAMA – Zavta Cultural Club, Tel Aviv, Festival of One Act Plays 97.
- 1997 HOME CINEMA Not yet produced
- 1998 Strangers (Hebrew: זרים) Habima (1999)
- 1999 FALCO RONACHER THEATER, Vienna, April 1, 2000
- 1999 LA TORANA (Not yet produced)
- 2000 Gebirtig (Hebrew: גבירטיג) based on Mordechai GebirtigMordechai GebirtigMordechai Gebirtig, born Mordecai Bertig was an influential Yiddish poet and songwriter.- S'brent :One of Gebirtig's best-known songs is "S'brent" , written in 1938 in response to the 1936 pogrom of Jews in the shtetl of Przytyk. Gebirtig had hoped its message, “Don't stand there, brothers, douse...
– Yiddishpiel (2000) - 2000 17 TOP COMPAGNIETHEATER, AmsterdamAmsterdamAmsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
2002 - 2001 CROCODILES HerzliyaHerzliyaHerzliya is a city in the central coast of Israel, at the western part of the Tel Aviv District. It has a population of 87,000 residents. Named after Theodor Herzl, the founder of modern Zionism, Herzliya covers an area of 26 km²...
Theatre (November 2001) - 2002 HOMELESS BEN GURION
- 2002 iWitness (Hebrew: עד ראייה; lit. "eyewitness") based on the story of Franz JägerstätterFranz JägerstätterBlessed Franz Jägerstätter, O.F.S., was an Austrian conscientious objector during World War II. Jägerstätter was sentenced to death and executed...
– Cameri TheaterCameri TheaterThe Cameri Theater , established in 1944 in Tel Aviv, is one of the leading theaters in Israel, and is housed at the Tel Aviv Performing Arts Center....
(2002) - 2002 REAL TIME
Director
- GHETTO in Essen and Bremen, Germany
- GOLDBERG VARIATIONS, by George Tabori, Dortmund, Germany, 1993
- ADAM – in Manheim, Germany, 1993.
- SCHNEIDER AND SHUSTER – Basel Theatre, Switzerland, 1994
- NICE TONI – The Khan & The Jerusalem Theatre, September 1994
- GHETTO – Hartke Theatre, Washington D.C., 1995
- GENS [A comprehensive version of the Ghetto Triptych] – Weimar 1995
- GHETTO – Haifa Municipal Theatre, January 1998
- ALMA – Cameri Theatre, Tel Aviv, December 1998
- GHETTO – Wesleyan University Theatre, November 2000
- THE MERCHANT OF VENICE – Illinois Shakespeare Festival. 2002
Teaching experience
- 1972–84 Actors Training School, Seminar Hakibutzim – Lecturer on Aesthetics
- 1972–84 Beit Zvi Actors Training School – Workshop Director: Writing Drama
- 1995–2002 Tel Aviv UniversityTel Aviv UniversityTel Aviv University is a public university located in Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel. With nearly 30,000 students, TAU is Israel's largest university.-History:...
– Workshop Director: Writing Drama - 1997–98 Ben Gurion University, Beer Sheva – Lectures on Drama; Workshop: Writing Drama
- 1996–99 Sam Spiegel Film & TV School, Jerusalem – Script Writing Workshop
- 2000 Wesleyan UniversityWesleyan UniversityWesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
, Connecticut, USA – Documentary drama - 2001 Tel Aviv University, Department of Literature – Lectures on Modern and contemporary Theatre
- 2001–02
- 2003 BezalelBezalelIn Exodus 31:1-6, Bezalel |transcribed]] as Betzalel and most accurately as Beẓal'el), is the chief artisan of the Tabernacle. Elsewhere in the Bible the name occurs only in the genealogical lists of the Book of Chronicles, but according to cuneiform inscriptions a variant form of the same,...
School of Architecture – Ethics and Art - Ben Gurion University Beer Sheva
Publications
(partial list)- 1999 Alma – play (Hebrew) – Published by Or – Am, Tel Aviv
- 1998 Alma – play (German) – Published by Paulus Manker, Vienna
- 1998 Palestinian Girl (English) – Published by Loki Books, London
- 1996 Village – play (Hebrew) – Published by Or – Am, Tel Aviv
- 1994 Solo – play (French & English) – Published by Cierec, Saint Etienne
- 1991 Solo – play (Hebrew) – Published by Or – Am, Tel Aviv
- 1991 Weininger’s Night – play – Published by Cahiers Bernard Lazare, Paris
- 1990 Underground – play (Hebrew) – Published by Or – Am, Tel Aviv
- 1990 Night of the 20th – play (Hebrew) – Published by Or – Am, Tel Aviv
- 1989 Adam – play (Hebrew) – Published by Or – Am, Tel Aviv
- 1989 Ghetto – play (English) – Published by Nick Hern Books, London
- 1988 Weiningers Nacht - play (German) – Published by Paulus Manker, Vienna
- 1987 The Jerusalem Syndrome – play (Hebrew) – Published by Or – Am, Tel Aviv
- 1985 The Palestinian Girl – play (Hebrew) – Published by Or – Am, Tel Aviv
- 1984 Ghetto – play (Hebrew) – Published by Or – Am, Tel Aviv
- 1982 Soul of a Jew – play (Hebrew) – Published by Or – Am, Tel Aviv
- 1976 Night of the Twentieth – play, (Hebrew) – Published by Proza, Tel Aviv
- 2000 Silence– A Novel – published by The New Library, Tel Aviv
- 2001 Schweigen (Silence) – Published by Luchterhand Verlag, Munich
- 2002 The Masked Ball – play (Hebrew) – Published by Or – Am, Tel Aviv
- 2002 Swijgen (Silence) – Published by Byblos, Amsterdam
Awards
- 1976 – NIGHT OF THE TWENTIETH – David’s Harp Award – Best Play of the Year
- 1976 – NIGHT OF THE TWENTIETH – David Pinski Award
- 1979 HOMEWARDS ANGEL – David’s Harp Award – Israel’s Best Play of the Year
- 1980 THE LAST WORKER – David’s Harp Award – Israel’s Best Play of the year
- 1982 WEININGER’S NIGHT – David’s Harp Award – Israel’s Best Play of the Year
- 1983 WEININGER’S NIGHT – Meskin Award for Best Play of the Year
- 1984 GHETTO – David’s Harp Award – Israel’s Best Play of the Year
- 1985 GHETTO – Theater Heute German Critics’ Choice – Best Foreign Play
- 1986 THE PALESTINIAN GIRL – Issam Sirtawi Award
- 1989 GHETTO – The Evening Standard award for Best Play of the Year. London
- 1989 GHETTO – Critics' Circle Theatre Awards – Best New Play
- 1990 GHETTO – Laurence Olivier Awards – Award Nomination – Best Play
- 1995 GHETTO – Mainichi Art Prize – Best play of the year – Tokyo, Japan
- 1996 GHETTO – Yumiuri Shimbun Grand Prize best play of the year, Tokyo, Japan
- 1996 GHETTO – Yoshiko Yuasa Prize – Best play of the year. Tokyo, Japan
- 2001 SILENCE – Sapir Award Nomination – Best Novel of the Year
Sources
- Biographical notes on the ALMA website Text of this site served for the basic Wikipedia entry, done with permission of Joshua Sobol and Paulus Manker.
- Interview with Sobol on "Polydrama"