Ibi’s grandfather immigrated to the Jewish state from Canada, lived on a kibbutz and realized the Zionist dream. He worked the land and took up arms, fighting in numerous wars. He tells his grandson to be proud of his Jewish heritage, to never forget how they were persecuted.
Ibi’s grandmother left a doll sitting on her bed when she fled her home in what is now Israel. She thought she would be back for it, but she never saw it again. She tells her grandson not to forget the pain of the Palestinian people, who were forcibly exiled from their homes.
Such is the identity crisis experienced by Ibi, who has a Palestinian Muslim father and an Israeli Jewish mother. He is the central character of “Blood Relative,” the new production by Traveling Jewish Theatre, which opens Sunday, March 20, in San Francisco. The play, which moves to Berkeley on April 21, is the culmination of TJT’s Middle East Project.
Shortly after Aaron Davidman became artistic director of TJT, he began thinking of how to tackle the Middle East conflict. The issue had “crept in” during prior productions but never as a central theme.
“We can’t be a Jewish theater company and not deal with this issue,” thought Davidman, who is now directing “Blood Relative.”
Several years ago, he visited the Acco Festival of Alternative Israeli Theatre. He met one of the Acco Theatre’s actors, Ibrahim Miari. The Middle East Project was already taking shape in his mind. To have the greatest possible impact, he realized it should be an international collaboration.
Miari, an Israeli Arab actor, recommended Meirav Kupperberg, an Israeli Jewish actress he had worked with on several productions. And the collaboration began here, with a summer workshop in August 2003.
Other workshops have since taken place, and much of the script was written by sending drafts back and forth via e-mail. The cast is rounded out by additional members of TJT’s ensemble, plus an Arab American actress from the Bay Area, with Georges Lammam, a Bay Area-based violinist of Palestinian descent, performing an original score.
Though the play attempts to show the “shared and competing narratives,” from the outset, the creators let go of the whole notion of balance.
“Balance is not the purpose for us,” said Miari, who plays Ibi. “We don’t want to bring solutions.”
Balance also implies there are only two sides, Davidman said, while the reality is, there are many more.
Kupperberg explained that they were not taking on the conflict, per se, but the personal stories of those living it.
Both Israeli actors said they had previously explored political themes in their work. Miari said it was “first nature” for him to do so.
“In Israel I try to protect myself from the reality,” said Kupperberg, avoiding television and news. “But the paradox is that I have traveled so far to do it here, in a safe space.”
Miari said the idea of coming to a Jewish theater was “kind of scary” to him at first.
“I didn’t know whether I am supposed to represent ‘the Arabs,'” he said. Also, he added, “We in the Holy Land are very cynical. We are extreme in our politics, so I didn’t know what it would be like here. Do American Jews really know how we live and will the audiences understand our humor?”
Facilitated dialogue will take place after some of the performances, encouraging audience members to share their own stories.
“If after seeing this, people are really starting to talk and listen to each other, then we’re achieving our goal,” Miari said.
“Blood Relative” opens Sunday, March 20, and runs through April 17 at Traveling Jewish Theatre, 470 Florida St., S.F. The will run April 21 to May 1 at the Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave., Berkeley. Performances are 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, 2 and 7 p.m. on Sundays. Tickets: $12-$35. Discounted tickets available for students, seniors and groups. Information: (415) 285-8080 or www.atjt.com.