The passion and poetry of S. Y. Agnon’s novella comes to life onstage in the Khan Theatre production of In The Prime of Her Life, adapted by Shir Pinkas and directed by Shir Goldberg. In English, the words of the title fall flat and heavy to my ear, while the Hebrew – Bidmi Yameha – is replete with music and associations, as the word “bidmi” recalls the Hebrew word for blood: dam, connecting to the novella’s themes of love, sexuality, death, and sacrifice. In considering a stage adaptation of Agnon, beyond narrative and character, the challenge is to convey the nuanced layers of meaning, the poetry, music, and imagery of the writer’s work. In the text and staging, Pinkas and Goldberg elicit the sometimes-veiled themes of this work, using creative means to make them vibrantly and boldly explicit in a production infused with a sense of mystery and sensuality, marked by excellent performances.
On the surface, the story is quite straightforward, and is even stated clearly in the program notes: “Tirza’s mother Leah passed away in the prime of her life after suffering from a heart ailment…[she] discovers the ill-fated love story between Leah and Akaviah Mazal… she herself will fall in love with Akaviah Mazal and marry him.” End of story. Anyone who has read Agnon or the program notes knows what to expect, one knows what will happen, the only question remaining is ‘why’? Why does a sensitive and intelligent young girl determine to marry a man old enough to be her father? Agnon’s novella, however beautifully wrought, has always left me feeling frustrated and furious at the sacrifice of Tirza’s young life. In this production, I finally found the catharsis I sought to make my peace with this work, because it resonates with the fury I feel, translating it into an artistic medium. In a brilliant move, the play retains a fidelity to Agnon’s prose, while presenting Tirza’s story in the manner of a murder investigation. It’s somewhat subtle, nothing essential is altered in terms of the characters or text, yet the sense that a terrible wrong has been done permeates the play from the outset, with much of the dialog taking on the sense of testimony and interrogation, infusing the play with an aura of suspense.
The set – four rows of straight-backed chairs set up on rising platforms, suggests a courtroom, and as the narrative unfolds, the characters’ description of their actions and events is pierced by the insistent question: why? This strategy focuses one’s attention on Tirza’s father Mintz (David Ben Zeev), and Mintshi (Irit Pashtan) Leah’s childhood friend, as complicit in her fate. Pashtan delivers a riveting complex performance as the loyal friend whose outward propriety and solicitous manner masks seething emotions – anger, jealousy, frustrated sexuality, and guilt. Odelya Moreh-Matalon portrays the loyal housekeeper Kaila with warmth and instinctive concern for the motherless girl, mingled perhaps with a longing to take Leah’s place with Mintz, and the ultimate powerlessness of her position.
In the Prime of Her Life is the tale of a young girl’s journey of discovery, yet it is a journey marked by the expectations and limitations imposed by others – her dead mother, her present yet absent father who denies her his attention and guidance, the would-be friend Mintshi who finds a vicarious thrill through Tirza’s experiences, and the abandoned lover, Akaviah Mazal, whose very presence is a reproach and a challenge. Yoav Hyman expresses so well the outward propriety and diffidence of schoolteacher-philosopher Akaviah Mazal, while his smile betrays his barely concealed desires. Ultimately, it is a tale of sacrifice, with Biblical resonance. The symbolism of the play evokes the primal impact of folk tales as well, with Tirza donning a bright red cap and skirt. The allusive quality of Agnon’s text, describing the young suitor Landau (Yuval Oron) as “wearing a wolfskin coat. And he smelled of a winter forest” is expressed in all its danger and allure, with the presence of a wolf-like mask and tail.
Yet at the heart of it all is Tirza, and Or Lumbrozo is radiant, delivering an outstanding performance suffused with the pain of loss, the seductive lure of discovery, and the blossoming sensuality of a young girl. Tirza encounters a sexuality she has not the means to understand or express. Responding with curiosity, delight, and fear to her encounters with love both romantic and erotic, she is entranced and seduced by the mystery.
In The Prime of Her Life
Based on a novella by S. Y. Agnon
Adaptation: Shir Pinkas; Directed by Shir Goldberg; Set and Costume Design: Roni Vilozni; Lighting Design: Roni Cohen; Music: Shlomi Bertonov; Choreography: Omer Shemer; Video Art: Amir Tal; Mask Design: Amira Pinkas, Gili Kozin Ulmer and Yana Malishev – Marbeyad Studio; Vocal Coaching: Dan Inbar; Cast: Or Lumbrozo – Tirza, Odelya Moreh-Matalon – Kaila, David Ben Zeev – Mintz, Irit Pashtan – Mintshi Gottlieb, Yoav Hyman – Akaviah Mazal, Yuval Oron – Landau.
