Simple lessons on life

The Chinese version of a play based on incidents in ghettos during World War II is to be staged on the mainland toward the end of the year. Chen Nan speaks to the Israeli playwright about what moved him to tackle the subject.

When Israeli playwright and director Joshua Sobol first read diaries describing life in the ghetto of Vilna, in Lithuania, during the World War II, he realized that there had been a theater in the ghetto.

Then, in 1982, he started to do research on the subject. He found that many of the people involved were still alive. He felt the urge to adapt the story into a play.