Thought-provoking, topical production

By Julia Gregory WITH feelings running high about the situation in Gaza, it was no surprise that Israel s largest theatre company drew a full house for its touring production of Plonter, which means tangle. The play was developed by a company of Israeli

By Julia Gregory

WITH feelings running high about the situation in Gaza, it was no surprise that Israel's largest theatre company drew a full house for its touring production of Plonter, which means tangle.

The play was developed by a company of Israeli Jewish and Arab actors and explores the long-running conflict between Israel and Palestine.

The tour was planned long before the current crisis in Gaza so its timing is very pertinent.

It's quite a challenge for audiences to take in a show in Israeli and Arabic with subtitles projected onto a screen but this thought-provoking play manages to keep their interest and they are drawn into the action. The quality of the acting overcomes the language barrier.

If there's a conclusion to this sorry tale of hatred and violence being passed down the generations, it is that an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.

We see the brutalising impact on soldiers who change their reports, claiming that they've been attacked by youths, not children to try and exonerate their actions.

It shows children who vie with each other to become suicide bombers to avenge their friend's death.

And the Cameri poke fun at the security wall erected between Israeli and Palestinian territory with the early morning arrival of a workman to measure up a house before he builds the wall cutting a family off from their bathroom, unless they pass through a check point controlled by a bored soldier.

It's not a comfortable show to watch, but there is humour to temper the horror and fear endured by people living through the conflict.

Hopefully we will see the excellent Cameri Theatre at the Barbican again as they certainly make us think.