The exhibition commemorating the centenary of the play "The Dybbuk" has opened in Moscow, supported by the EAJC

The official opening of the exhibition "The Dybbuk, Vakhtangov, and Habima: A Lifeline" took place at the Moscow Evgeny Vakhtangov Theatre. The event was organized with the support of the Embassy of Israel in Russia and the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress (EAJC). The ceremony was hosted in the grand foyer of the theatre. The exhibition is timed to coincide with the 100th anniversary of "The Dybbuk" premiere on the Vakhtangov Theatre stage and will remain open until February 21.

The opening ceremony was attended by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the State of Israel to the Russian Federation, Alex Ben-Zvi; the Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for International Cultural Cooperation, Mikhail Shvydkoy; Doctor of Art History and recipient of the Moscow Government and the Russian Ministry of Culture awards for the monograph "The Russian Seasons of the Habima Theatre," Vladislav Ivanov; as well as the exhibition organizers and theatre historians.

The exhibition "The Dybbuk, Vakhtangov, and Habima: A Lifeline" is a joint project of the Vakhtangov Theatre and the Israeli Center for the Documentation of the Performing Arts at Tel Aviv University, with the participation of the I. Gabay Theatre Archive. It presents the complete history of "The Dybbuk," spanning from its Moscow premieres and international tours in the 1920s and 1930s to the modern Israeli stage. Visitors to the Evgeny Vakhtangov Theatre will have the opportunity to view unique artifacts, sketches, scripts, costumes, and photographs from February 14 to February 21, 2022.**

The Vakhtangov Theatre and the Israeli Habima Theatre both owe their inception to Evgeny Vakhtangov. The cultural ties between the two companies, both of which recently celebrated their centenaries, were sustained and renewed throughout the 20th century and continue into the 21st. In 2022, both theatres mark the 100th anniversary of Evgeny Vakhtangov's legendary productions: "The Dybbuk" in January, and "Princess Turandot" on February 28.

The Habima Theatre-Studio was founded in Moscow in 1917, driven by the intense enthusiasm of actor and director Nahum Zemach and directly supported by Konstantin Stanislavsky. Habima was referred to as the biblical studio of the Moscow Art Theatre. Evgeny Bogrationovich Vakhtangov served as the first artistic director of this theatre, which presented its performances in Hebrew.

The theatre's signature production is S. An-sky's play "The Dybbuk," which emerged from an ethnographic expedition through Jewish shtetls.

The production of "The Dybbuk," directed by Evgeny Vakhtangov in January 1922 just four months before his passing, brought world renown to Habima. Despite not knowing Hebrew, Vakhtangov created a language of universal, fantastical theatricality in "The Dybbuk" that captivated audiences in Moscow, Europe, and America.

It is worth noting that while the opening day of the exhibition "The Dybbuk, Vakhtangov, and Habima: A Lifeline" did not coincide exactly with the centenary of the premiere (January 31), it fell close to another significant date: February 13, which marked the 139th anniversary of Evgeny Vakhtangov's birth.