Hanoch Levin’s play Krum is coming to Covent Garden

Acclaimed Israeli writer Hanoch Levin’s play Krum, a tale of two weddings and two funerals, and written in 1975, is being performed at the John Lypn’s Theatre at City Lit.

A sad yet funny play, and one of Levin’s greatest and most influential works, the action takes place in Tel Aviv in the 1970s. The protagonist Krum returns from his travels to find life is complicated; so much so that he ends up living with his mother, an archetypal Jewish matriarch.

The play has numerous characters, and is directed by Israeli theatre creative Ariella Eshed, an established theatre director and storytelling tutor, who trained in Israel and now teaches theatre in the UK.

“In 2023 when City Lit was planning its theatre programme for the upcoming three years they asked for submissions,” said Ariella, who is a tutor at the college.

“This was, of course, long before the tragic events of October 7, and I suggested the Hanoch Levin play Krum. The programmers liked the play and scheduled it to be performed in 2026.

“I am thrilled that despite everything that is going on in the Middle East, we are going ahead and celebrating the work of a brilliant Israeli playwright and performing this classic play.

“I believe that culture can be a better bridge between people than politics and it is great for the performers to be able to experience the writing of an Israeli playwright, someone whom they might not otherwise have known about.”

Krum is at John Lyon’s Theatre at City Lit in Covent Garden 26 – 28 March. citylit.ac.uk