Hanna Rovina as Leah in the Hebrew-language premiere of The Dybbuk. Habima Theater, Moscow, 31 January 1922

Four (of eleven) lithographs by Leonora Carrington depicting her costume designs for a theatrical production of S. Ansky’s play “The Dybbuk”: 1) “Leye y Frade” (1974), 2) “Leye Returns Transformed Into the Dybuk” (1974), 3) “The Messenger” (1974), and 4) “The Rabbi” (1974).

In 1974, Leonora Carrington created 11 lithographs depicting her costume designs for a theatrical production of S. Ansky’s play The Dybbuk. This suite of prints forms the core of the exhibition Leonora Carrington: El Mundo Mágico now on view at Mixografia in Los Angeles along with several other prints showcasing Carrington’s enigmatic form of Surrealism, which blends various visual and mythological strands from her European background with those of her adopted home of Mexico.

The play, which depicts the possession of a young woman by the malicious spirit – known as Dybbuk in Jewish folklore – of her dead beloved, became a canonical work of both Hebrew and Yiddish theatre, being further translated and performed around the world.

Mary Ellis as Leah in the Neighborhood Playhouse's production of The Dybbuk (1925-26).

Little ones play during recess at a Talmud Torah in Eastern Europe, c. 1912-1914. Photographed by Solomon Iudovin, from Photographing the Jewish Nation: Pictures from S. Ansky’s Ethnographic Expedition.