The Pittsburgh Tatler: Gesher Theatre’s extraordinary In the Tunnel juxtaposes two narratives centered on the never-ending Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Below is the concrete-dun, claustrophobic, dimly lit tunnel in which a pair of Israeli reserve soldiers encounter a pair of Hamas fighters; the resulting skirmish leaves one of the Palestinians dead and the other three fighters trapped together in a stalemate.
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“In the Tunnel” had intrigued me from the moment it began to pop up as ads on the sides of my browser windows. I thought it was incredibly interesting to examine the humanity and commonality of both the Israeli and Palestinian soldiers; I did not know that it was also in stark contrast to the caricatures of media and political influencers. I went to Israel a few years ago on a tour very different from the typical almost indoctrinating experience many Jewish youth encounter on their trips there. I was able to meet and interact with a lot of different types of people with wildly contrasting viewpoints that let me peek into the complexities of the truth of Israel’s situation. I think it is all too easy to either pick a side of the Israel debate or simply write it off as being too complicated to get involved with. This play seems to be a good way in for outsiders to try to dig into those complexities and realize it is so much more than what is spouted across the world in newspapers and on tv.
“In the Tunnel” takes a huge risk by telling the story of the controversial issue that is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Rather than choosing a side (as the media often does), this play explains the perspective of both to give the audience a more complete understanding. The juxtaposition of the natural conversation between the Hamas members from Palestine and the IDF soldiers from Israel with the skewed images of the media helps develop exactly why the issue has continued to grow. The people of these two groups feel bitterness towards the other, but how often do they consider how much the headlines have deepened this tension? This question may seem irrelevant to us who live on the other side of the world, but we must understand how these problems develop, and empathize with the terrors occurring every day. This blogpost also mentions the other valuable works in the “Pittsburgh Festival of Firsts,” such as the “Beyond/Playmodes” light show that I went to see with a few of my classmates. I greatly enjoyed this immersive experience that lasted no more than five minutes, but kept me thinking for much longer.
I personally find any form of art having to do with history, especially performances, very interesting. They Are interesting to me due to the fact that they are very complex and hard to face stories. I also found out that the central storyline of this performance had to do with the Israeli and Palestinian conflicts that took place in the 1940’s under president Truman. I think it was smart of them to do the set in the way the did. I think the set accurately displayed what it was like during these times when people did not have a set part of land to call their home. I also thought that the two story set what a fun idea to incorporate because it gives a lot of room for symbolism in terms of whos inferior to who, “Meanwhile, above, leaders from Israel and Hamas engage in a cynical circus of finger-pointing, zero-sum-gaming, and verbal bomb-throwing, while a hapless German UN official attempts to broker a cease-fire that will allow both sides to retrieve their trapped soldiers”. I agree with this decision because I think it is important to show both sides of the refuges. The side of who is superior and their actions and how they affect the inferior, and how the inferiors actions affect the superior. With the two story set, this depiction is created clearer for the audience as well as giving a both literal and abstract perspective.
When theatre takes on such heavy historical topics, I am always eager to see how it is played out. One of the best parts of theatrical representations of these topics is that we are able to examine interpersonal relationships of the participants, rather than looking at the whole topic from far away. The things we hear about conflicts like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict we hear through the media, and it is often a general telling of the conflict itself. After examining multiple human atrocities in my Global Histories class, I see much more importance in looking at the people involved in the conflict in addition to the conflict itself. This production called In the Tunnel seems to do just that. The connection of human similarity engages the characters in an interaction they would never have expected to have. It definitely brings out the complexity of the dispute that Israel and Palestine have been fighting through, and how it’s not as simple as we perceive it to be from the outside.
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