The Land is an original, three act play, concerning the past, current and about to be future ( unless something changes quickly ) Israeli/Palestinian conflict. It looks at the catastrophic mistakes of History that have led to the present cycle of violence, through the eyes of two women (Amirah and Tamara) and their families. The first act begins during the Second Intifada and the final act occurs in Gaza during Operation Cast Lead. As this very human drama unfolds, the audience is taken on an often shocking, emotional and provocative journey that climaxes with a surreal but hopeful ending. The setting of The Land is Jerusalem, but the story is about all of us, struggling to co-exist on this fragile planet.





Sunday, February 28, 2010

A Tale Of Three Cities

One of the issues that The Land takes on is the frightening and dangerous Fundamentalist element that dwells at the root of the crisis: Religion. Not spirituality. That is another matter, but Religion in all it's different attire can become problematic when people start taking allegorical stories, literally. Fortunately, more people are waking up. Unfortunately modern Crusaders, Saracens and Ottoman hoards are still hammering at the gates of Jerusalem. In Israel right now, with the aid of Christian Fundamentalists, world wide, the radical Settler Element has taken over. Together, these bible thumping zealots, are rousing up their followers with the millennial pattern of end of world scenarios, and preparing them for the imminent arrival of a Jesus-like saviour. Islam, the third aspect of the Western Trinity, is portrayed as the Devil in the way of the Redemption. On the other side,Extremist Islamic doctrine (not all of Islam) embraces both of its elders but neatly qualifies their place in God's scheme of things and insists that Mohamed was the Last Prophet, who is also due for a second coming, under the guise of The Thirteenth Imam. The major problem of course, is the site of the Judeo/Christian timeline, happens in the place where the Al-Aksa mosque stands. The alleged location of Abraham's aborted sacrifice of Isaac and the location of the First and Second Temple Compounds of the Ancient Kingdom of Judah. As if that were not enough, it is rumoured (some point to another mosque in the area) to be the spot from which Mohamed ascended to the Heavens on his winged steed. The chaos that is ensuing over archaeological digging and land grabbing , combined with the collective expectation of Divine intervention is not surprising. In revising my working script, I've continued to portray all this, in the most real, shocking and immediate way possible. I've also tried to do it with humour and tenderness. This subject provided me with great and inspiring fodder for a classic, dramatic tragedy, while also enabling me to bring a little attention to a very worthy and important cause. Please help us help Grassroots Jerusalem.
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