The Dybbuk

The Dybbuk, or Between Two Worlds (Yiddish: דער דיבוק אָדער צווישן צוויי וועלטן, Der dibuk oder tsvishn tsvey veltn) is a 1914 play by S. Ansky, relating the story of a young bride possessed by a dybbuk —a malicious possessing spirit, believed to be the dislocated soul of a dead person— on the eve of her wedding. The Dybbuk is considered a seminal play in the history of Jewish theater, and played an important role in the development of Yiddish theatre and theatre in Israel. The play was based on years of research by S. Ansky, who travelled between Jewish shtetls in Russia and Ukraine, documenting folk beliefs and stories of the Hassidic Jews.

Der Dybuk: a parody. A well-known Yiddish play, built up round a medieval mysticism. Produced by the Dramatic Section of the Jewish Workers’ Club in 1944 in the Library Theatre, Johannesburg.

The Company presented Barney Simon’s production of The Dybbuk in 1986.

Sources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dybbuk

South African Opinion, 1(9), 1944. 20

Tucker, 1997

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