Wrestling Jerusalem

Aaron Davidman’s one-man play about the longstanding Palestinian-Israeli conflict has been "opened up" to a certain extent by director Dylan Kussman, albeit in a way that increases rather than mutes the sense of artificiality. Davidman portrays 17 characters, segueing from an Israeli Special Forces soldier to such figures as a rabbi who condemns his more extreme colleagues, a hardline Israeli settler, a Palestinian man whose son was injured by an Israeli soldier, a Palestinian woman working for the United Nations, a chain-smoking dishwasher who tries to avoid the news, and himself. Davidman’s performances are passionate, but also very theatrical; shouting is his default tone, and moments of quiet introspection are rare. Kussman somewhat undermines the cumulative effect of the play by cutting incessantly from venue to venue--a theatre with (and without) an audience, the backstage dressing room, and an empty expanse of desert. By presenting a variety of voices so intensely, Davidman successfully depicts the maze of opposing views tied to the apparently insoluble question of the future of Palestine. Unfortunately, neither he nor Kussman has found a fully satisfying cinematic approach for transferring a supremely stagebound piece to the screen. Still, the power of the concept overcomes to some extent the flaws in execution, making this a strong optional purchase Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)