as Leah in
S. Ansky's
The Dybbuk (performed by Habima in the Hebrew-language translation by
Hayyim Nahman Bialik). Habima was founded as an amateur troup by Nahum Lazarevich Tsemakh (Hebrew: Naḥum Tsemaḥ; 1887–1939) in
Białystok (then in
Grodno Governorate,
Russian Empire) in 1912.
Menahem Gnessin was one of its cofounders and early actors. Because its performances were in
Hebrew, invoked the Jewish folk tradition, and dealt with issues of the Jewish people, soon it was banned by Russian authorities, and the theatre troupe was forced to become a travelling one. Beginning in 1918, the theatre operated under the auspices of the
Moscow Art Theatre, which some consider its actual beginning. It encountered difficulties under the Soviet government as well, after the
Russian Revolution.
Konstantin Stanislavsky arranged for the mainly Jewish Polish actors to be trained by
Yevgeny Vakhtangov. The
People's Commissar for Nationalities Affairs,
Joseph Stalin, also authorized the theatre's creation. However, the
Yevsektsiya attempted to use its influence to cut off state funds to Habima, branding it counter-revolutionary.
International tour In 1926, the theatre left the
Soviet Union to tour abroad, in countries including Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United States. Their productions met with great success.
Establishment in Palestine '',
Neues Schauspielhaus, 15 September 1930. First professional performance of Shakespeare in Hebrew. Other members of the theatre took the company to
Mandate Palestine in 1928. In the 1928–29 season there, the Habima Players presented two plays, both under the direction of
Aleksei Dikiy, from the Moscow Art Theatre. of
The Hair of Absalom (
Los cabellos de Absalón), by the 17th-century Spanish dramatist
Calderón. In 1930 the company traveled to Berlin, Germany, where it produced Shakespeare's
Twelfth Night, directed by
Michael Chekhov, and
Karl Gutzkow's
Uriel Acosta, under the direction of
Alexander Granovski. This was the first year in which the Prize was awarded to an organization. In the 21st century, Habima employs 80 actors, and another 120 staff members work at the complex. ==Restoration==