Narratives of Armed Conflict and Terrorism in the Theatre: Tragedy and History in Hanoch Levin's Murder

Abstract

The play Murder by the Israeli playwright Hanoch Levin, which premiered at the Cameri Theatre, the Tel Aviv municipal theatre, in the fall of 1997, is unique in confronting the extremely complex conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Levin's text—as well as the performance based on it—directed by Omri Nitzan, the artistic director of the Cameri Theatre, are a compelling theatrical representation of the chain of violence and counter-violence, of terror, revenge and retaliation that is still feeding this now more than century-old Middle Eastern conflict. Examining this play and some details from the performance, as well as situating it within Levin's oeuvre as a playwright, I want to raise a number of issues about the possibilities of the theatre to reflect and comment on violence and terror, and perhaps even bring about a change of attitudes towards such phenomena within the Israeli political and ideological contexts. I want to stress from the outset that I will examine an Israeli play from an Israeli perspective, and, at the same time, I am aware that there is another side as well. The broader issue I want to raise here, however, is how acts of terrorism and armed conflict shape the narratives performed on the theatrical stages in Israel. Is it at all possible to portray such acts of violence within an aesthetic framework? And how do these kinds [End Page 555] of narratives affect our experiences of the grim realities around us; do they have any likelihood of influencing the political realities surrounding us? 3

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