5/5 Eran P. 1 year ago on Google • 458 reviews
The
Hiba
Theater
(founded
in
1917)
is
the
national
theater
of
Israel
located
in
Tel
Aviv,
winner
of
the
Israel
Prize
for
1958
and
a
member
of
the
"European
Theater
Union".
The
director
general
of
the
theater
is
Noam
Semal,
the
artistic
director
of
the
theater
is
Moshe
Kaptan.
With
the
immigration
of
the
Bhima
members
to
Eretz
Israel,
the
question
of
establishing
a
permanent
home
for
the
theater
arose.
As
early
as
August
1929,
the
municipality
decided
in
principle
to
allocate
a
plot
of
land
for
the
theater,
if
the
theater
showed
the
ability
to
build
a
theater
on
it[12].
At
the
beginning
of
1932,
funds
were
collected
for
the
construction
of
the
Beit
Bima
and
the
"Bima
Circles"
were
established
throughout
the
Land
of
Israel
in
cities
and
colonies[13].
In
January
1933,
the
municipality
decided
on
allocating
the
lot
to
the
theater
in
its
current
location[14].
In
July
1933,
the
municipal
council
decided
on
the
conditions
for
leasing
the
lot
to
the
theater,
according
to
which
the
lot
will
be
registered
in
the
name
of
the
municipality
and
will
be
leased
at
a
nominal
price
to
the
theater
for
artistic
purposes
only.
It
is
also
required
that
there
be
no
performances
in
the
theater
on
Saturdays
and
holidays[15].
The
contract
was
signed
during
the
month
of
August
1933[16].
In
1935,
the
cornerstone
was
laid
for
the
building
according
to
plans
by
the
architect
Oskar
Kaufmann[17]
and
the
architect
Eugen
Stolzer[18][19]
from
the
year
before.
The
building
was
intended
to
be
erected
at
the
northern
end
of
Rothschild
Boulevard
in
Tel
Aviv,
and
to
be
the
first
building
of
the
city's
cultural
complex
according
to
the
Geddes
plan.
The
ceremony
was
attended
by
the
British
High
Commissioner,
Sir
Arthur
Vaucoup,
Moshe
Sharet
and
Mayor
Meir
Dizengoff[20].
In
August,
the
foundations
of
the
building
were
dug[21].
It
was
only
in
1945
that
the
Great
Hall
was
inaugurated
[22],
and
in
1946
the
Bhima
Theater
house
was
officially
opened.
In
1962
another,
smaller
hall
was
inaugurated
in
the
building,
intended
for
chamber
plays
and
experimental
plays[23].
The
appearance
of
the
building
has
changed
many
times.
In
1958,
the
architects
Dov
Karmi
and
Zvi
Meltzer
added
balconies
that
hung
between
its
columns
and
a
flight
of
stairs
that
led
to
an
elevated
entrance.
In
1970,
the
building
changed
its
face
again
in
the
design
of
the
architects
David
de
Mayo
and
Yehuda
Landau.
The
building
is
faced
with
stone
and
a
glass
curtain
wall
has
been
added
to
it,
as
well
as
a
renewed
interior
design
for
the
entire
building.
A
third
hall
was
added
to
the
building
-
the
"bi-basement"
hall
for
staging
single
plays.
The
changes
continued
in
the
1970s
and
1980s.
During
the
first
Gulf
War,
in
1991,
a
huge
Israeli
flag
was
unfurled
on
the
glass
facade
of
Beit
Bima,
the
defiance
of
the
city's
residents,
who
remained
in
the
city
despite
the
threat
of
the
Scuds
and
hid
in
sealed
rooms,
against
the
world
and
the
whole
world
through
the
CNN
network.
In
2007,
the
renovation
project
of
the
"Habima"
house,
designed
by
Ram
Karmi,
began,
together
with
a
general
renovation
of
the
entire
Bima
complex
entrusted
to
Danny
Karvan.
The
renovation
included
almost
rebuilding
the
entire
building
except
for
its
facades,
and
was
completed
in
September
2011.
The
project,
which
cost
about
100
million
NIS,
was
financed
by
the
Tel
Aviv
Municipality
(the
majority
of
the
funding)
and
the
Ministry
of
Culture.
The
original
six
columns
of
the
building
were
uncovered
and
a
lighting
system
was
installed
at
the
top
In
the
shape
of
an
umbrella.
A
10-meter-high
transparent
glass
shell
was
assembled
in
front
of
the
building.
The
building
has
four
halls:
"Robina
Hall"
(930
seats),
"Meskin
Hall"
(320
seats),
"Bartonov
Hall"
(the
bi-basement)
(220
seats)
and
"Blanche
Rappaport
Hall"
("Stage
4")
(up
to
170
seats).
The
lobby
area
was
expanded
and
redesigned.
They
span
three
levels,
all
of
which
can
be
viewed
outside
the
building
through
the
glass
wall.
The
management
offices
were
moved
to
the
new
roof
floor,
workshops
The
theater
and
rehearsal
rooms
were
renovated
and
expanded,
and
all
the
building's
infrastructure
was
upgraded[24].
On
January
22,
2012,
the
new
neighborhood
of
"Habima"
was
inaugurated
in
the
presence
of
President
Shimon
Peres,
Minister
of
Culture
and
Sports
Limor
Livnat
and
Mayor
of
Tel
Aviv-Jaffa,
Ron
Huldai.
