WELCOME TO RAMALLAH. To 1 November.
London/York.
WELCOME TO RAMALLAH
by Sonja Linden and Adah Kay.
Arcola Theatre (Arcola 2) 27 Arcola Street E8 2DJ To 18 October.
Mon-Sat 8.15pm.
then York Theatre Royal (Studio) 21 October-1 November 2008.
Tue-Sat 7.45pm Mat 23 Oct 2pm, 25 Oct 2.30pm.
Runs 1hr 30min No interval.
TICKETS: 020 7503 1646.
www.arcolatheatre.com (London).
01904 623568.
www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk (York).
Review: Timothy Ramsden 4 October.
Fine performances and understanding production maximise play’s impact.
Modern Ramallah’s situation can be understood in the writings of its recently-dead resident, the poet Mahmoud Darwish. In this jointly-authored play, presented by politically-focused theatre company iceandfire, there’s little sense of the cultural potential in this Palestinian city caught under Israeli rule.
Though Sonja Linden and Adah Kay, from different Jewish backgrounds, chart a number of fracture-lines among the two Jewish sisters and the Palestinian men of different generations who visit Mara’s Ramallah home, the most evident gap is between those who live in the city and Natasha, over from America to collect the ashes of the women’s father.
Fitting everything within 90 minutes, including the impact of sixty year-old events and an anti-terrorist sweep that provokes a sense of urgency, creates a dramaturgical constriction, with issue-raising events intruding and conversations being interrupted or force-fed with relevant matters.
There are, too, some gear-crashing lines shoved in to move the action on. Against this there’s an ever-fascinating, sometimes moving array of themes and ideas. On film, it could seem more natural, time and place able to be more fluid than the realistic writing allows on stage.
But Sue Lefton’s small-scale production and its four fine performances focus clearly on the people who are living, briefly and superficially or in lifelong depth, a political situation which is illuminated by human truth and detail. Lolly Susi probably has the toughest job, for Nat’s American tourist mindset leads to a concatenation of faux pas only the truly unself-aware would commit.
Susi manages these moments with a smile and tactfully-played certainty that keeps the character from caricature; the moment when she sits by Salim and they agree on marriage and divorce is the more telling for the surprise of its brief human sympathy.
Shuna Snow contrasts her sister in every way; darker hair, brighter clothes, sharper, agitated manner, and an alert attachment to her Palestinian neighbours (neither Nat nor the visitors easily name the other’s race). Her performance invests both Mara and the situation in her home with depth and urgency. It’s complemented by John Moraitis’ dignity and Christopher Simon’s tensely emotional calm then anger.
Salim: John Moraitis.
Mara: Shuna Snow.
Daoud: Christopher Simon.
Nat: Lolly Susi.
Director: Sue Lefton.
Designer: Adrian Linford.
Lighting: Jenny Cane.
Sound: Emma Laxton.
2008-10-05 16:40:02