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In 1947, Harold Ehrensperger was one of the fi rst scholars to explore the
connections between drama, the Judeo-Christian Scriptures, and religious practices in
his book Conscience on Stage. Although he concentrated more on the use of drama in the
church rather than drama in the Bible, he started a scholarly dialogue that has continued
with this new contribution by Shimon Levy entitled The Bible as Theatre. According to
Levy, the idea for the book began in 1995 as a seminar at Tel Aviv University entitled
“Bible and Theatre” and culminated in the current offering of a theatrical “reading” of
several Biblical stories.
The central premise of the book is that the Hebrew Scriptures contain numerous
stories that are highly theatrical as well as dramatic. In the preface and introduction, Levy
makes note of the infl uence on his thinking by several scholars who, over the past thirty
years, have explored the numerous dramatic aspects of these stories. Levy then notes that
no one has specifi cally done a reading of these stories from a theatrical viewpoint, which
is exactly what he does in this work organizing it into fi ve distinct parts, each building on
the previous. In his preface and introduction, Levy acknowledges his dependence upon the
theatrical and performance theories of such writers as Victor Turner, Richard Schechner,
Christopher Innes, Peter Brook, and Jerzy Grotowski as well as Jewish scholars Meir
Sternberg, Uriel Simon, and Nisan Ararat. He then makes a detailed explanation of how
he developed his ideas and theories, and launches into a strong argument that the story
of Samuel’s initiation offers great theatrical possibilities, a theme he develops in the
chapters to follow. He concludes the book with one of the most famous stories of the
Hebrew tradition: David and Bathsheba.
In Part I, “Samuel’s Initiation and the Possibility of Biblical Theatre,” Levy
explores the theatrical elements in this story of a young boy’s initiation into the Jewish
priesthood. He notes that a central problem with the story is the representation of God
in a corporeal fashion, a notion that seems to contradict the second commandment. He
then argues that this particular story offers a strong metaphor for God as “sensually and
physically unimaginable, yet with varying degrees of, ‘presentness’ ” (Levy 6) a central
tenet of the Jewish faith and later developed into the personal religion of Christianity. For
The Bible as Theatre
By Shimon Levy. Brighton, U.K.: Sussex Academic Press, 2002. Pp. 264 ISBN:
1898723508 (Pbk. $69.50).
98 Book & Performance Reviews
Levy, God is pictured in this story as an active player in the plot, a major character in the
play.
Having laid a strong foundation for the possibility of theatrical elements in
an early Hebrew narrative, Levy moves in Part II to a view of what he calls “Female
Presentation: Oppressed and Liberated” recognizing the many and various views of
women in the Hebrew Scriptures. He then notes that the stories he is discussing were
all written “by men, in a male-dominated society” (7). Yet he goes on to acknowledge
that these particular male writers offered “a highly critical attitude toward [the culture’s]
own moral as well as emotional standards” (7), a stance somewhat contradicted by most
biblical scholars.
The chapters in Part II offer some of the more controversial elements of Levy’s
book. After acknowledging that some scholars believe the Jewish Scriptures are not kind
to women when compared to the more enlightened western view of women’s rights,
Levy fi nds within the stories of Deborah, Ruth, Esther, and the concubine of Gibeah
a highly sophisticated portrayal of women by ancient writers who, Levy holds, have
some strong “pro-feminist” views. If the reader accepts Levy’s premise that a theatrical
reading of the biblical stories offers greater insight than a traditional reading, then Levy’s
argument becomes interesting and even compelling. Readers who are familiar with a
more traditional approach to biblical interpretation will fi nd that Part II contains some
troubling views of the Bible. One example is found in the chapter dealing with the
Prophetess Deborah. Here Levy (understandably) proposes that Deborah represents an
“agricultural and idyllic” (58) view of Israel compared to a more un-moveable “iron”
presentation of the Canaanites, a somewhat theologically questionable interpretation.
Then in his discussion of Tamar, Levy’s theatrical reading offers some rather questionable
ideas about Tamar’s intentions and Judah’s emotional state, which at best deny God’s
active participation in the process. Given that, Levy is fi rst and foremost a theatre scholar
whose viewpoint offers the reader some wonderfully refreshing ways of looking at stories
that have been either overlooked or ignored by Christians and Jews alike.
In Part III, Levy juxtaposes two passages that seem to be in opposition. The fi rst
is a “feminine” view of romance found in The Song of Songs, chapters 4 and 5. And the
second is a male view of a “bad” woman portrayed in Proverbs 7. Levy’s point is that the
Song of Songs dialogue presents a personal, yet practical view of romance by illustrating
how one’s words of love can be as effective in communicating affection than engaging in
specifi c romantic actions. The Proverbs’ depiction is an educational theatre lesson with a
decidedly negative, though humorous, approach to how not to be romantically involved.
The teacher explains to his students that engaging in promiscuous activities can lead one
to a life of misery. Levy sees a bit of humor in how the teacher implies that the sensual
desire is the woman’s fault because she is doing the tempting through her actions.
In Part IV, Levy really shines with his theatrical reading of the Bible’s stories.
He looks at four Hebrew prophets by focusing on the prophets’ activities rather than
prophesies they profess. This section offers the most satisfying theological interpretations
in the book because Levy offers an interpretive insight that is refreshing and extremely
interesting. In this chapter Levy is able to show that traditional interpretations accepted by
most biblical scholars about how to interpret the prophesies of Elisha, Jonah, and Ezekiel
can be both confi rmed and more deeply informed through his “theatrical” reading of these
Book & Performance Reviews 99
prophets and their stories. Chapter 8 presents an interpretation of the prophet Elisha and
his relationship with a Shunamite woman, which delves into the subtext of the story as
revealed in the movements and actions of the characters. Levy’s insights offer the biblical
scholar a great deal to think about and give the theatrical scholar some satisfaction that
the ancient Jews may have had a sense of the dramatic seldom credited to them. Levy’s
conclusions about the Jonah narrative (chapter 9 “Jonah: a Quest Play”) shows that a
single human being standing in confl ict with an omnipresent and omnipotent God can
be far more dramatic than one could possibly imagine. Then in chapter 10 (“Ezekiel: the
Holy Actor”), Levy explores several possibilities of the theatrical through the use of holy
spaces and the sanctifying of holy places with the presence of God through His “holy”
actors.
In Part V, “Leaders: A Theatrical Gaze,” Levy attempts to inject some recent
feminist criticism to explain the necessity of God using Moses and David as visible
metaphors for the very heart and intentions of the Almighty. Levy does not hold a feminist
view of Scripture, nor does he carry these theories beyond this specifi c discussion. But in
chapter 12, he compares David and Moses to Jehu, one of the most vicious and bloody
rulers in Jewish history, whose actions were considered by God (and thus by Jewish
tradition) to be blessed since he rid the nation of Jezebel and the priests of Baal. Levy’s
point seems to be that the biblical writers were well aware of the popularity of stories
about powerful generals engaged in bloody wars. As an apt conclusion, Chapter 13
is a theatrical interpretation of the story of David, who is referred to as a “Man after
God’s own heart,” and Bathsheba, the woman whose husband David had murdered. In
Levy’s estimation, this story is the best example of a theatrical story in the Bible. In this
fi nal chapter of the book, Levy brings together “all the various theatrical components
previously dealt with separately or in various combinations” (11). He calls this story “a
superbly designed fi ve-act drama” (11). Levy explains his approach by stating that even
though biblical stories can be interpreted simply by looking at the text, they “can also
benefi t from a medium-oriented theatrical approach aimed at explicating the text, even if
it is not meant for actual presentation” (235).
From the standpoint of a student of biblical interpretation, this book offers
some highly creative and interesting views of some often overlooked passages in the
Old Testament (the Christian term that Levy inexplicably uses to refer to scriptures in a
Hebrew context). His theatrical interpretations open the possibilities for re-interpreting
these stories and posit the possibility of non-standard insights that could easily enlighten
the inquisitive mind. His understanding of ancient Hebrew history and culture inform
his theatrical study and training in such a way as to give him a distinctively Jewish,
yet strongly dramatic methodology for interpreting these ancient stories. But, if one is a
student of theatre and/or performance theory, this book will offer very little in the way of
exciting insights and new approaches to the study of dramatic texts. Most of his theatrical
insights are obvious and apparent to any cursory reading of the biblical text once the
reader grasps what Levy is doing. The fi rst chapter was exciting in seeing how Levy fi nds
the dramatic in these ancient stories. But, with that introduction completed, the rest of the
chapters become predictable and quickly read.
The one truly refreshing, though very brief, view that Levy offers in this study
is his extremely skillful approach to seeing the performative aspects in the stories. Many
books and articles have been written analyzing the dramatic elements in various literary
and historical writings, but few scholars have shown the exciting insights that Levy
presents when he is discussing just how a particular text could or would have been
performed before an audience. Although the reader will probably want more explanation
as to how or why this speculation is important to his interpretations, Levy fails to look
any deeper than simply positing the speculations of theatrical production possibilities
and a brief explanation of how it might be done. The scope of Levy’s book seems to be
limited to exploring and speculating briefl y on those aspects, thus limiting the depth of the
discussion. This writer wanted to know more about both his interpretations and how he
would more specifi cally view these passages as producible theological theatre. Perhaps,
that subject will be addressed in a future treatise. Nevertheless, this reviewer considers
Levy’s book a welcomed addition to the world of theatrical and dramatic scholarship and
comes with the recommendation that it is well worth the time to read.
Herbert Sennett
Palm Beach Community College
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