Hanoch Rosen (born December 8, 1959) is an Israeli actor, mime, producer and director.
He was born in London and immigrated to Jerusalem as a child. His father, Yosef Rosen, was a radio broadcaster and simultaneous translator, who, among other things, translated the Eichmann trial.
Rosen attended high school near the University of Jerusalem and served in the army as a member of the Southern Command. His first pantomime teacher was Amos Arbel, followed by Claude Chagrin (Julian Chagrin‘s first wife), Boris Svidansky, Yoram Boker, and Ella Marceau, who was the wife of Marcel Marceau. He also studied pantomime with Etienne Decroux, who was Marcel Marceau’s teacher.
He began appearing on street pantomime shows in Europe at a young age after running out of money on a trip. He then served in a military band and performed as a pantomime actor as part of his military service.
Rosen played the character of “Pento”, for which he won the “David Violin Award”.
Between 1981 and 1987, Rosen taught pantomime at the Beit Zvi acting school. In 1988, he adapted (together with Uri Paster) the musical “Peter Pan”, starring Hani Nachmias and Sasson Gabay. In the musical, Rosen appeared as Peter Pan.
Hanoch Rosen – Mime Career
Hanoch Rosen began his first performances in front of an audience at the age of only 17, at the Pargod Theater in Jerusalem. In this performance Rosen used the technique of classical mime, his face painted white, and the passages were in complete silence. Upon his enlistment in the IDF, and Rosen’s encounter with an audience of entertainment-thirsty soldiers, Rosen added music and effects to segments and included the media-entertainment dimension in his pantomime performances.
Upon his release from the IDF, he embarked on his first pantomime show, which already included a sophisticated musical soundtrack. Rosen was one of the first to combine classical pantomime with contemporary, using virtuoso music and effects. During these solo performances, Rosen often appeared on Israeli television, and soon became known in every home in Israel. The name Hanoch Rosen has become synonymous with mime in Israel.
Hanoch Rosen’s second solo show was “Hanoch Rosen – Pantomime”. It was followed by “Do not catch me with a word,” “Speech is not the voice,” “Entertainment without words,” and “Preserves the right to remain silent.”
In subsequent performances, Rosen incorporated advanced visual means and was one of the first to incorporate a video screen on stage. He went in and out of the screen and created innovative and original visual illusions. In his subsequent plans, Rosen incorporated unique stage effects such as flight, giant props, and more. In these performances, Rosen developed and perfected the theme of audience participation in mime performances, while breaking down the barriers between the stage and the audience and creating comedic segments with audience participation.
Ahead of the 2009 Israel Festival, Rosen released a new solo show – “Speaks for Himself”. The new show uniquely combines the classic pantomime with stage effects like a giant screen that incorporates, among other things, clips of Rosen’s own pantomime. The show won the Israeli Theater Award as the 2009 entertainment show.
Rosen has performed with his shows all over the world, received rave reviews, and has been described by the world press as “the prince of the pantomime – the heir of Marcel Marceau”. Rosen has performed at many festivals, including the famous Edinburgh Festival, the Milan Festival, the Columbia Theater Festival, the London Pantomime Festival, and more. He appeared for half a year in New York on Off-Broad
Since 2009, Rosen has been performing in Israel and around the world with his solo show “speechless”.
