A special collection of 16 historical paper items – documents, photographs, booklets, and rare certificates – the Hebrew theater “HaOhel” and its great actors, from its establishment the 1920s to the 1950s.
1. “Program” – the rare program schedule for the first performance of the “HaOhel” theater – “I. L. Peretz Balls” ! The cooperative printing house Achdut” – the central printing house of the labor movement, 1925. The logo design was created by the painter Pinchas Litvinovsky. The name for the theater was chosen by its founder Moshe Halevi in consultation with the poet Haim Nachman Bialik. Because of the limitations of the stage size in the gymnasium auditorium where the “I. L. Peretz Balls” were performed, for the opening project of the theater, Halevi chose a play made up of several skits, with only a few participants in each skit, and the sets in which are modest in size. The casting for the various roles changed frequently to give an opportunity for other members to go through the first “baptism of fire” on stage. Co-creators: director Moshe Halevi, music by Yoel Engel, painter Aryeh Spozhnikov (later Elhanani), assistant Barji (director) Raphael Tzvi, rhythmic movement by Margalit Orenstein. Printed on the back of the booklet: “Begins exactly at half past eight, after the second bell the doors will be locked”.
2. Summer 1926, a “campaign” photograph of the “HaOhel” towards its first show – “I. L. Peretz Balls” – in the Jordan Valley. The advertisement banner of the show was hung on the horses’ backs! The performances in front of the pioneers in “The Working Settlements” were at the core of the ideology of the Workers’ Theater and an integral part of its essence. On the back of the photograph, in handwriting: “During the tour of Peretz’s Balls… on the way from Degania Aleph to Afikim, summer 1926′
3. A British passport for the resident of Palestine theater actor Ze’ev Barban, was issued on February 9, 1934 in preparation for the big performance tour of “HaOhel” in Europe. With the help of the various stamps it is possible to follow its route with great precision. Leaving the country by ship from the port of Haifa on March 28, 1934. The countries where performances were held: Poland (Lviv, Warsaw, Lodz, etc.), Italy, Switzerland, France, England, Lithuania, Belgium and Romania. Return to Haifa port on October 15, 1934, a time period of over half a year of performances. The success of that journey, both artistically and in terms of connecting with Jewish audiences (mainly Poland and Lithuania) was phenomenal.
4. Two travel documents (passports) of theater actors Ze’ev Barban and Deborah Castellanz document the stations on the theater’s second trip to Europe in 1950.
5. A photograph of the “building group” from among the “HaOhel” actors during the construction works of the “Red House”. “The Red House” 1925-1926. It is the house of the Tel Aviv and Jaffa Workers’ Council, built by the Tel Aviv labor troop of the “Gdud HaAvoda” which camped on the seashore in those days. Many of the members of the “HaOhel” collective took part in these works. Next to it was built the mythological “Tzrif HaOhel” (The Ohel’s hut) that operated until the establishment of the theater’s permanent residence (near Dizengoff Square, on Beilinson Street) in 1940.
6. A rare photograph of the couple, the actors Ze’ev Barban and Deborah Castellanz, on the beach of Tel Aviv, summer 1929. On the back of the photograph Castellanz wrote: “The bicycle in which I won a mask at the Matate ball in Rina Garden”. The Satirical theater “HaMatate” (The Broom) was founded in April 1928 and shut its doors in 1954. Its base of activity was in the well-known “Beit Ha’am” on Ben Yehuda Street, corner of Shalom Aleichem (on its site later, Beit “El Al” was established). On the other side of the road, in the section of Shalom Aleichem St. between Ben Yehuda and Yarkon, during three consecutive days (March 25-27) of the very popular Purim parties of the “HaMatate”, was inaugurated on Purim 1929, and in the presence of a large crowd, the Cinema / Cafe “Gan Rina”, and was one of the most popular recreation places in Mandatory Tel Aviv.
7. A photograph of Yehuda Shechori in the play “Sodom” by H. Leivik, an expressionist theater with Russian and German influences, the most modernist of its time. The premiere took place on May 6, 1939.
8. A photograph of Deborah Castellanz and her daughter Yael, in an episodic performance, in the play “Yom Menucha” (A Day of Rest) by Valentin Katayev. A parody of the Russian government taking care of its citizens (“Yom Menucha”). The premiere took place on November 21, 1949.
9. Two items from the play “Jeremiah” by the “HaOhel”: a large photograph (25×20 cm) and a program schedule: 1. In the photograph Ze’ev Barban in the role of King Zedekiah. The prophet Jeremiah was played by Simcha Tsehoval and King Zedekiah was originally played by Yaakov Avital. About a year after his ascension of the play on the stage, Avital left “HaOhel” and joined “Habima” and the one who accepted his role as Zedekiah was Ze’ev Barban (initially he only had a secondary role in the play). The play remained in the “HaOhel” repertoire for over 25 years! On the back of the photograph his daughter Yael wrote: “HaOhel, Z. Barban in the role of Zedekiah in the play Jeremiah by Stefan Zweig”. 2. The original program schedule of the play: The premiere was held on August 10, 1929 in the “Old Exhibition” hall (HaNegev Street, later the complex of the old central station of “Egged”).
10. Booklet “Let’s go to the theater”. In an ad published in the newspaper “Davar” on January 29, 1946. on the occasion of the appearance of the booklet (published by the Department of Culture and Youth next to the Tel Aviv and Jaffa Workers’ Council) it was written that it was “Intended to bring the audience back to the theaters in times of crisis”. The booklet (40 pages) is rich in photographs of the theater actors and information about the theater and its tours. On the opening page is the list of the 13 shows covered in it. Many of them, such as “Bashefel”, “The Brave Soldier Schweik” or “Benyamin III’s Travels”, have become icons of the Hebrew theater over the years, and are shown over and over again over the years. The cover was designed by Moshe Vorobeichic.
11. The book “King Lear” by William Shakespeare – the copy of the “HaOhel” Theater actor Moshe Halevi, with his signature in Hebrew – “Moshe Halevi”, and in English with his original name – “M. Gurevich”. Halevi directed 52 plays in “HaOhel” (including this one) and had never before acted in even one of them. Lear played by Moshe Halevi was his only role as an actor in the premiere which took place on June 3, 1941. To make the double job easier for him, Simcha Tsehoval played Lear instead. The book translated by S.L. Gordon, published by “Toshiya”, Warsaw, 1899, was used by Halevi in those days.
12. A somber letter handwritten and signed by Moshe Halevi, November 2, 1957. In 1950, the “HaOhel” went on a (second) tour of Europe and upon its return fell into a serious organizational and artistic crisis. Under the circumstances that arose, Moshe Halevi – the theater’s founder, artistic director and house director – cleared most of the positions and embarked on a new artistic path. After a while he returned to his work in the theater, but the members of the theater did not accept him as a full-fledged actor. In his letter to the general meeting of the members of “HaOhel”, he asks to be recognized as a member with equal rights. And adds that the general assembly – “the life of the entire institution, as well as the life of each of its members, including my life, depends on it.’
13. Fifteen handwritten pages – Protocol summaries from the meetings of the members of the “HaOhel” cooperative from the years 1957-1959 which mainly discuss the material and artistic crisis in the theater and the ways to deal with it, and the acceptance or return of new members to the theater.
The “HaOhel” Theater was founded in 1925 by Moshe Halevi, as a theater under the auspices of the General Histadrut, whit the goal to help shape Hebrew labor culture. Moshe Halevi, director and director of the theater, chose not to accept actors from existing theaters to the theater but to recruit a group of young actors and teach them the role of acting. After a training period, the premiere performance of the theater was held in the Herzliya Gymnasium Hall. Most of the “HaOhel” plays in the beginning were historical and biblical plays, with socialist messages. In 1934, “HaOhel” went on a successful concert tour in Europe, including in Poland before the Holocaust (the above passports were stamped during that trip). In 1938, the theater appeared in several shows in Egypt. During the Yishuv period, the “HaOhel” was one of the leading theaters in Israel, but in the 1950s it lost its status in favor of the “Habima” theater and the “HaKameri” theater, which attracted the attention of the Israeli audience more. The “HaOhel” closed for good in 1969, after the Histadrut ceased funding it.
The items are all kept in Very Good Condition.
