As early as five months after its premiere, the people of Lublin were able to see one of the most sensational plays of the 1920/21 theatre season. The play, written and performed in Yiddish, was The Dybbuk by Szymon An-ski, playwright, journalist, and collector of folklore. The play tells the story of the love between Leah and Khanan. Khanan dies, struck by an unearthly force, on learning that Leah’s father has betrothed his daughter to another man. At Leah’s wedding, Khanan enters her body as a dybbuk. The Miropol tzadik uncovers the secret – an oath made by Leah’s and Khanan’s fathers meant the youths were destined for one another even before their birth.
An-sky’s play has been highly successful and is still performed worldwide. The Lublin theatre hosted a performance by the excellent ensemble of Ester Rachel Kamińska, already familiar to Lublin audiences.
