La contestation par l'écriture dramatique: Hanokh Levin

Hanoch Levin's theatrical career was defined by a continuous dissent from Israel's hegemonic political, social and cultural discourse. Among the 56 plays written by Levin in his relatively short but fruitful career, are five political satires: You, Me and the Next War (1968), Ketchup (1969) and Queen of the Bathtub (1970) all written after the Six Days' War, followed by The Patriot (1982) written during the Lebanon war and Murder (1997) written in response to the first Intifada, in the wake of the murder of Prime Minister Ytschak Rabin and the progressing collapse of the Oslo agreements. Given public rejection of the vitriolic criticism in his early satires, the substantial box office success of his last political satire Murder is surpising. All along those thirty years, the Israeli public learned to recognize themselves and their society in the images projected by Levin's work due to his unconditional and unconceding dialogue with his audiences.