“They have the best hummus”

Jerusalem is a city on the edge. One of the oldest urban civilisations in the world, and a holy site for three major religions, it has in recent times become characterised by conflict.

Control of the city is one of the central issues in the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which remains not just a dispute over territory, but one of identity. Set against this backdrop is Julia Pascal’s 2003 play, “Crossing Jerusalem”.

Soon I discovered an interview given by Julia Pascal to the London “East End Review” in 2015 where she says: “There is a sort of low-level anxiety in Israel constantly, love, sex and death are raw and present there all the time.”

Pascal is an atheist, attending a non-religious state school in Manchester and ‘marrying out’ of Jewish society. Her husband is French. But she still considers herself Jewish in a cultural sense.

She wrote the “Crossing Jerusalem” following the Second Intifada, the Palestinian revolt against Israel that lasted from 2000 to 2005.

Her research saw Pascal masking her Jewish identity and venturing into the Muslim quarter of Jerusalem, speaking French as a decoy to find out the truth of what life was like there.

“Being a writer is like being a spy,” says Pascal. “As a ‘French person’ I was told things I never would have heard a as Jew.”

This is where she discovered details of the relationships depicted in the piece.
These include a Jewish woman’s (Varda Kaufmann) love for her Arab servant, acts of horrific violence perpetrated by both sides (Gideon Kaufmann and Sharif Khalil), and unusual culture clashes such as the Christian Arab (Sammy Hadid) who will host anyone at his restaurant as long as they can afford to eat.

It is these apparent inconsistencies and contradictions but also what she calls “Jewish Hypocrisies” that Pascal always seeks to draw attention to in her writing. She tells the “East End Review” that the only Jewish plays in London are anti-Zionist and that the nature of the conflict in the Middle East is over-simplified, supporting an “easy political dogma”.

In “Crossing Jerusalem” she fearlessly challenges these received opinions and is eager to expose the complex and uncomfortable truth. It is an insight into a strained and complex world of family ties, prejudice, religious obligation and above all humanity.

Meeting the playwright Julia Pascal in person was a privilege. She and the entire magnificent cast of eight together with the Director, the effervescent Joanna Godwin-Seidl, patiently answered the many questions put by our interested members as always expertly moderated by our Vice-President Ambassador Alexander Christiani. In the end, consulting his watch, he had to slam on the brakes. The clock had turned to the witching hour!

This is already my fifth report from the Theater Drachengasse, the last being May 2018. What shall I say to all those who have turned down last night’s invitation? You missed a superb performance and great theatre. On top of the excellent hospitality, a large variety of tasty canapés and plenty of Hochriegl sekt, all courtesy Café Ministerium!
 

Wolfgang Geissler

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