• Advertise
  • Request Review
  • Write for Us
  • Privacy
  • Login

Theatre Bubble

The UK Theatre Network

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Reviews
  • News
  • Features
  • Spotlight
  • Opinions
  • Interviews
  • Guides
  • Tickets

Ed Fringe 2016: Acting Alone, at Just Festival in St John’s

August 6, 2016 by Alexander Hartley Leave a Comment

Review of: Acting Alone
Produced by:
Ava Hunt Theatre
Price:
£10/8

Reviewed by: Alexander Hartley
Rating:
2
On August 6, 2016
Last modified:August 6, 2016

Summary:

A manifesto of personal uncertainty is undermined by its blind spots.

More Details

A few years ago, Ava Hunt travelled to Palestine with her director, Maggie, to do some research for a show they were working on. Acting Alone presents some of Ava’s experiences from that trip, together with her stories of being a working actor. The one-woman play is first and foremost about Ava’s hesitancy and unease about the possibility of being an agent for change in the world, her anguish about the limits of theatre’s power. On this score, as a manifesto of personal uncertainty, it is sometimes disarming and often moving. Unfortunately, as soon as it begins to offer some wider thoughts about the Israel–Palestine conflict, it comes unstuck.

380b7a_d877d3f2e39e43d59aef7865462a1c65

Though the play announces it is “inspired by the people Ava met in refugee camps in Palestine”, it contains only one named Palestinian. The rest are sketched in broad strokes, anonymous, vague: “We’re ashamed. We’re ashamed to be Palestinians.” Ava’s diagnosis of the political situation in the Middle East is similarly broad-brushed: apparently, the enemies of a solution in Israel–Palestine justify their stance on the basis that “there’s not enough people who want peace.”

This is colour-by-numbers politics. The Israel–Palestine conflict is complicated, and a lack of political will is indeed one of the problems. But if you want to work toward solving it, you have to try to understand its complexities, not gloss over them. And theatre that aims to make a difference should give voice to those most affected by the conflict, not to the Westerners who are free to walk away from it.

The one named Palestinian is Juliano Mer-Khamis, who founded the Freedom Theatre in the occupied West Bank and was assassinated by masked gunmen in 2011. To date, no one has been charged with his murder. Once again, it’s a story that needs to be told; you can read about the Freedom Theatre here and here. The play touches on this and many other important stories. Irena Sendler, who helped smuggle thousands of children out of the Warsaw Ghetto. Rachel Corrie, killed by an Israeli armoured bulldozer while she was trying to prevent the demolition of the home of Samir Nasrallah, a Palestinian pharmacist. The British imperial policies that bear so much blame for the region’s persisting problems. But all these stories are structurally subordinated to the overarching theme, which is the soul-searching of a Western actor; and, for all the Ava’s concern about anguish and ambiguity, they are all too often turned into parables with a single, overly simple, message.

Watching the play, you begin to wonder whether it is crossing a line from artistic license to dangerous obfuscation. Then the UN lawyer “Tony”—yet another Westerner—appears, to explain that the Israeli Government is “mainly funded by Russian Jews.” Enough. That’s flatly untrue. Why doesn’t Ava challenge it? I thought this play was about uncertainty and complexity; why is Ava reaching for the false certainty of a conspiracy theory that plays on an antisemitic trope? And—once again—why does this show about Palestine and Israel spend so little time giving the perspectives of Palestinians and Israelis?

It matters that this play is not concerned about distinguishing between complex facts and simple fictions. The play uses people’s lives as a backdrop for its consideration of a Western conscience. It matters that those people are real. It matters that they are denied their own voices. I don’t believe that Acting Alone’s heart is in the wrong place. But where is its brain?

Author: Alexander Hartley

Filed Under: Review Tagged With: Edinburgh Fringe 2016

Join the discussion Cancel reply

Review / The Journey To Venice at the Finborough Theatre

Bjorg Vik’s play The Journey To Venice is a delightful production, entertaining yet full of pathos. A play with a [Read More]

INTERVIEW / Tzarini Meyler talks KITES at VAULT Festival

We spoke to Artistic Director of LipZinc Theatre, writer and performer Tzarini Meyler about her upcoming show at VAULT Festival [Read More]

INTERVIEW / Naomi Westerman talks BATMAN (aka Naomi’s Death Show)

We spoke to writer and performer Naomi Westerman from Little But Fierce about her upcoming show at VAULT Festival Can [Read More]

INTERVIEW / Angharad Jones on The Swearing Jar 

From New Perspectives, The Swearing Jar is a comedy about love, heartbreak, living with the past and accepting the future. We spoke to director Angharad [Read More]

INTERVIEW / Unleash The Llama talks Five Years With The White Man

We spoke to the creators of Five Years With The White Man about the upcoming show coming to VAULT Festival [Read More]

Top Posts & Pages

  • Tim Edge talks Under the Black Rock
  • Writing the Perfect Press Release
  • 5 Stage Elements to Consider for a Rousing Theatrical Production
  • Katy Owen: Auditioning for Oxford School of Drama
  • Complicité's A Minute Too Late at the National Theatre
  • Is this the real location of Ambridge?
  • Jane Eyre at the National Theatre
  • Crowdfunding In Theatre - An Overview
  • The Pros and Cons of Crowdfunding
  • Tamara von Werthern on the new Fizzy Sherbet Podcast
  • Alexander Hartley
    Author

  • August 6th, 2016
  • comment iconNo Comments
  • Facebook15TweetLinkedInEmail

    Newsletter

    Enjoyed what you've read? Get even more great content directly to your inbox - Completely Free

    About Theatre Bubble

    Theatre Bubble is the news, review and blogging site created by Blue Pie Media and run by a dedicated team of outstanding editors and writers: we're always looking for new contributors - to find out more click here.

    Contact Us

    News: news@theatrebubble.com
    Reviews: reviews@theatrebubble.com
    Website: webmaster@theatrebubble.com

    Privacy Policy

    Copyright © 2023 · Blue Pie Media

     

    Loading Comments...
     

      Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

      Email sent!