Sholom Ansky

On the day of her wedding, Leah is possessed by a dybbuk – the spirit of her former lover who died after learning of her engagement to another man. Set in the vanished, mystically religious world of 19th-century Eastern European Hasidism, S. Ansky’s The Dybbuk is a complex and meticulously crafted tragedy in which two lovers, betrothed before birth and denied earthly communion, are ultimately bound together for all eternity. This semi-staged reading took take place at the Almeida, as part of Six Artists in Search of a Play.

This mythic love story set in a timeless, lavishly colorful and mystical Jerusalem incorporates hard rock, striking set design, computer-generated imagery and modern-day tensions between the secular and the Orthodox worlds. Hanan, a handsome young traveler - who has pierced ears and wears grungy flannel shirts - falls in love with Lea, the beautiful daughter of a leader in the religious community. Unbeknownst to the couple, a deal was struck, years earlier, in which they were promised to each other by their fathers. When Hanan consults with a master of Kabbala, a set of mysteriously forbidden eleventh-century texts unleashes untold powers, merging the erotic with the divine and affirming love's infinite potential to transcend all obstacles. The lovers are played by Yehezkel Lazarov (Waltz with Bashir) and Ayelet Z'urer (Angels & Demons; Vantage Point). (from sfjff.org)

On the day of her wedding, Leah is possessed by a dybbuk – the spirit of her former lover who died after learning of her engagement to another man. Set in the vanished, mystically religious world of 19th-century Eastern European Hasidism, S. Ansky’s The Dybbuk is a complex and meticulously crafted tragedy in which two lovers, betrothed before birth and denied earthly communion, are ultimately bound together for all eternity. This semi-staged reading took take place at the Almeida, as part of Six Artists in Search of a Play.

This mythic love story set in a timeless, lavishly colorful and mystical Jerusalem incorporates hard rock, striking set design, computer-generated imagery and modern-day tensions between the secular and the Orthodox worlds. Hanan, a handsome young traveler - who has pierced ears and wears grungy flannel shirts - falls in love with Lea, the beautiful daughter of a leader in the religious community. Unbeknownst to the couple, a deal was struck, years earlier, in which they were promised to each other by their fathers. When Hanan consults with a master of Kabbala, a set of mysteriously forbidden eleventh-century texts unleashes untold powers, merging the erotic with the divine and affirming love's infinite potential to transcend all obstacles. The lovers are played by Yehezkel Lazarov (Waltz with Bashir) and Ayelet Z'urer (Angels & Demons; Vantage Point). (from sfjff.org)