Zionism, apartheid, blackface: Cry the Beloved Country on the Israeli stage

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Numerous theatrical productions in 1950s Israel employed blackface to simulate negritude on the stage. Focusing on Habima's 1953 production of Lost in the Stars-the musical drama based on Alan Paton's best-selling novel Cry, the Beloved Country-and reading it in the context of Israel's involvement in postcolonial black Africa, this essay demonstrates how, by reflecting the slippery nature of Jewish whiteness, blackface performances on the Hebrew stage captured the complex relationship between Zionism and apartheid.

Original languageAmerican English
Pages (from-to)117-153
Number of pages37
JournalRepresentations
Volume123
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jan 2013

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Cultural Studies
  • General Arts and Humanities
  • Gender Studies
  • Sociology and Political Science

Cite this