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Sobol' Shooting Magda explores Israeli/Palestinian identities
By Liam Otten The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is, at least in part, the story of competing narratives. Whose history is preserved, whose claims are recognized, whose ambitions are met? Joshua Sobol, widely considered Israel' greatest playwright, explored this duality in Shooting Magda, his 1985 examination of cross-cultural love and individual identity in the years just prior to the intifada.
Performances begin at 8 p.m. Nov. 21-22, at 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. Nov. 23 and at 2 p.m. Nov. 24 in the A.E. Hotchner Studio Theatre, located in Mallinckrodt Student Center. In addition, Sobol -- who will attend the St. Louis premiere -- will lecture for the Assembly Series at 11 a.m. Nov. 20. The talk is free and open to the public and takes place in Graham Chapel. (Full story) Shooting Magda tells the story of Samira (Robin Kacyn), a young Palestinian woman who has fallen in love with an Israeli law student and whose life is now being captured by an Israeli film crew. Benesh (Brad Schwartz), the film' director, has helped Samira draft a semi-autobiographical script but, as budget issues force a marathon, 24-hour shoot, differences of vision -- both personal and national -- begin to arise. "There are two sides to this world," said Henry I. Schvey, Ph.D., professor and chair of the PAD, who directs the 10-member cast. "There is the Palestinian who wants her story to be faithfully told and the Israeli filmmaker who, while sympathetic, also is interested in telling his own story. It's also a kind of a Romeo and Juliet story, in that it deals with forbidden love. The play builds to a crisis as Samira begins to feel that her story is no longer being told." Sobol' twist is that each Israeli actor also plays another role within the film of Samira' life. Samira herself -- the one constant -- shoulders a double role by implication, as she watches her past re-enacted before her eyes. Adding to the sense of schism is the fact that lead actress Dahlia/Magda (Emily Madison) is not terribly sympathetic to her perspective and suspects that Samira is having an affair with Benesh. "Samira and Dahlia are very distant from one another yet there is a constant, implicit dialogue between them," Schvey said. "At one point, Samira says, ‘It was very important to me to have my story portrayed by a Jew, and if you think about it, you'll know why.' That question is never explicitly answered in the text, but I hope it's something that, by the end of the play, can be answered by the audience -- why it's important that one's own story should told by ‘the other.' Indeed, the entire play is about the importance of telling -- and listening to -- one another' stories. "I think the arts have a responsibility to address human complexity," Schvey continued. "This is not simply a political play, but a play about individual identities and mutual understanding. If there is a message here, it' simply a plea for greater recognition of the humanity on both sides of the great divide that is the Middle East. Our survival as a civilization depends upon our listening to one another." Tickets are $12 ($8 for students, University faculty and staff and for senior citizens) and are available at the Edison Theatre Box Office, or through all MetroTix outlets. For more information about the play, call 935-6543. In conjunction with the performances, the PAD will sponsor several pre- and post-performance discussions with student groups and community leaders; a schedule is forthcoming. In addition, dramaturge (and PAD graduate student) Trevor Biship has produced a new study guide for the play. For more details about the guide or ancillary events, call 935-5858. |
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