''Job's Passion'' (, Ysurei 'Yov) is a play by

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

i playwright Hanoch Levin, based on the biblical story of

Job Work, labor (labour in Commonwealth English), occupation or job is the intentional activity people perform to support the needs and desires of themselves, other people, or organizations. In the context of economics, work can be seen as the huma ...

, combined with elements of Christ's Passion. The play was first staged in April 1981 at The

Cameri Theater The Cameri Theatre (, ''HaTeatron HaKameri''), established in 1944 in Tel Aviv, is one of the leading theatres in Israel, and is housed at the Tel Aviv Performing Arts Center. History The Cameri Theatre was founded with the purpose of promoting ...

in Israel, under the direction of Levin himself and starring Yosef Carmon as Job. The first production was criticized since it included a scene of the naked Job crucified through his anus by Roman centurions and left thus for the remainder of the play. Miriam Glazer-Ta'asa, Israel's Deputy Minister of Education and Culture at the time, claimed before the

Knesset The Knesset ( , ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel. The Knesset passes all laws, elects the President of Israel, president and Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister, approves the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet, and supe ...

that the state should not fund theater where, "a naked man is hanging for twenty minutes with his genitals flailing about." Regardless of this criticism, Carmon was awarded the "David's Violin" Prize for his portrayal of Job.

Structure

The play is made up of seven Acts and an epilogue. within each section events are often repeated in cycles of three, thus Job is visited by three groups of beggars, three messengers of poverty, three messengers of death, and finally three friends. :Act I – The Beggars :Act II – The Messengers of Poverty :Act III – The Executors :Act IV – The Messengers of Death :Act V – The Friends :Act VI – The Soldiers :Act VII – The Entertainers :Act VIII – The Dead

Productions

The play has been translated into English, French, German and Swedish. * 1981 - Cameri Theater (

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, Israel) - directed by Hanoch Levin * 2006 - Theater for the New City (

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) - translated by Shay K. Azoulay; directed by David Paul Willinger * 2011 - The Jewish Theater (

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, Sweden) - directed by Philip Zandén * 2024 - Compagnie DERAÏDENZ (

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, France) - directed by Léa Guillec

External links

Job and Jesus Combine to Overcome
- ''

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'' Review of the 2006 production of the play at Theater for the New City. {{Book of Job 1981 plays Israeli plays