Israel's theater companies present a wide variety of classical and contemporary plays with Jewish and universal themes, either written in Hebrew or translated from other languages. These companies perform to large audiences, in their home theaters, in auditoriums throughout Israel, and on stages around the world. Israeli theater is a product of the social and cultural diversity of the artists who compose and comprise it. Israeli theater companies perform plays that are often at the vanguard of social commentary. Israel's unending internal debates over the identity of the state and what that means for its governance along with the persistent external troubles vis-a-vis the Arab world are a significant source of original Israeli theater. Some of Israel's most prolific playwrights are Nissim Aloni, Hanoch Levin, A. B. Yehoshua, and Yehoshua Sobol. To be sure, Israeli theaters also perform a repertoire of traditional, contemporary, and classical works, including those of Shakespeare and Arthur Miller.
Hebrew theater began in Moscow in 1917 with the founding of Habimah ("the stage") under the direction of Constantin Stanislavsky. From its inception, it was linked with Hebrew culture and Zionism, producing plays that depicted the life of the Jewish people throughout the ages. Habimah began performing in Palestine in 1928 and has come to be Israel's national theater. In Tel Aviv, the Cameri Theater (est. 1944) has been that city's municipal theater since 1971 and is Israel's largest theater company. The Haifa Municipal Theater (est. 1961) was the first theater in Israel to be publicly sponsored. The Beersheba Municipal Theater (est. 1974) was established to bring theater to the population of the Negev.
Numerous other theater groups — some of which are geared toward children or offer performances in Russian or Arabic—flourish and perform for enthusiastic audiences. The Gesher Theater in Tel Aviv is a world-renowned acting company with bilingual performances in Hebrew and Russian. Established in 1979, the annual Acco Festival of Alternative Israeli Theater has often featured artistic encounters between Jews and Arabs in unconventional, exploratory theatrical performances.
Historical Dictionary of Israel. Bernard Reich David H. Goldberg. Edited by Jon Woronoff..