{{Short description|Israeli academic (1935–2015)}} {{Infobox scientist | name = Edna Shavit | image = Edna Shavit D493-049 (cropped).jpg | image_size = | alt = | caption = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1935|4|25}} | birth_place = Israel | death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2015|6|14|1935|4|25}} | death_place = | spouse = Yoram Gal (1994-2003) | native_name = עדנה שביט | native_name_lang = he }}
'''Edna Shavit''' ({{langx|he|עדנה שביט}}; 25 April 1935 – 14 June 2015) was an Emeritus Professor in the Department of Theater Arts at the Faculty of Arts of Tel Aviv University, a theater director, translator, screenwriter, lecturer, actress, journalist, radio playwright, editor, and broadcaster for the radio stations Galei Zahal and Kol Yisrael.<ref>{{Cite web |title=עדנה שביט - MusicBrainz |url=https://musicbrainz.org/artist/aaa4f636-f967-4ecd-b8e3-d15335882e70 |access-date=2025-11-25 |website=musicbrainz.org}}</ref>
== Biography ==
Shavit was born in Haifa.
In the 1960s, after gaining some experience in the Nahal Troupe of the IDF, she joined the {{ill|Zira Theatre|he|תיאטרון זירה}} (lit. Stage Theatre), an avant-garde theater founded by {{ill|Michael Almaz|he|מיכאל אלמז}}, which was the first theater in Israel to stage Samuel Beckett's play ''Waiting for Godot'' (under the title: "We Are Waiting for Mara'al"). Shavit played the character Lucky.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Israel didn't have to wait long for Mr. God|url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/culture/1.4802622|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181214070135/https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/culture/1.4802622|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 14, 2018|access-date=2020-06-10|newspaper=Haaretz|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=מתה הבמאית, המתרגמת והמורה לתיאטרון עדנה שביט |url=https://www.haaretz.co.il/gallery/theater/2015-06-14/ty-article/.premium/0000017f-f04e-dc28-a17f-fc7fa5e60000 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250221035835/https://www.haaretz.co.il/gallery/theater/2015-06-14/ty-article/.premium/0000017f-f04e-dc28-a17f-fc7fa5e60000 |archive-date=2025-02-21 |access-date=2025-11-25 |website=Haaretz הארץ |language=he}}</ref>
Shavit studied English literature and philosophy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She held a bachelor's degree from Tel Aviv University in Hebrew Literature and Theatre Arts. She traveled for a two-year specialization in Cinema in the United States. Following this, she began teaching acting and directing in the Theatre Department in Tel Aviv University.<ref name=":1" />
Shavit directed over one hundred productions in every institutionalized theatre in Israel. She was the first Israeli woman to enter into the field of directing, which was considered an exclusively male domain before that.{{cn|date=December 2025}}
In 1968, Shavit directed the first work of Hanoch Levin, ''"You and I and the Next War"''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jewish-theatre.com/visitor/article_display.aspx?articleID%3D27 |accessdate=October 18, 2009 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110522004144/http://www.jewish-theatre.com/visitor/article_display.aspx?articleID=27 |archivedate=May 22, 2011 |title=All About Jewish Theatre - Hanoch Levin - Success Story }}</ref>. This play evoked very harsh reactions from the public following the Six-Day War, and is still considered a landmark in Israeli political theatre.{{cn|date=December 2025}}
Shavit directed many classic plays, such as ''"Oedipus Rex"'' by Sophocles at the Habima Theater (1978), as well as Absurdist plays, such as ''"Waiting for Godot"'' by Samuel Beckett, which she translated and directed several times at various theatres in Israel.<ref name=":0" />
She was active in the fields of journalism, radio drama, translation, radio broadcasting, and more.<ref name=":0" />
In 2006, she was awarded the {{ill|Levi Prize|he|פרס הלוי}} for life achievement.<ref name=":0">{{cite news|url=http://e.walla.co.il/item/2863477|title=נפטרה במאית התיאטרון והשחקנית פרופ' עדנה שביט |date=14 June 2015|publisher=Walla!|language=Hebrew|accessdate=29 June 2015}}</ref>
Shavit served as a Professor of Theatre at Tel Aviv University, and retired as an Emerita Professor.<ref name=":1" />
She lived in Tel Aviv. She has a son with {{ill|Rafi Tavor|he|רפי תבור}}. For a certain period, she was in relationships with the actor and broadcaster Alex Ansky and with the actor, director, and painter Yoram Gal.
Edna Shavit died at her home in 2015, at the age of 80.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0" />
==References== {{Reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Shavit, Edna}} Category:Israeli theatre directors Category:Academic staff of Tel Aviv University Category:1935 births Category:2015 deaths Category:Tel Aviv University alumni Category:Israeli women theatre directors Category:Israeli translators Category:Israeli radio personalities Category:Israeli dramatists and playwrights Category:Jewish women dramatists and playwrights Category:Jewish Israeli actresses Category:Israeli women dramatists and playwrights Category:Israeli stage actresses Category:20th-century Israeli translators Category:20th-century Israeli Jews Category:20th-century Israeli actresses Category:20th-century Israeli artists Category:21st-century Israeli artists Category:21st-century Israeli women artists Category:20th-century Israeli women artists Category:Israeli radio people Category:Jewish Israeli artists Category:Jewish dramatists and playwrights Category:People from Haifa