David Hare’s Wall, which was read by the playwright at the Royal Court in three sell-out performances in March, will return to the theatre for a longer run next month.
Hare’s exploration of the Israel/Palestine separation barrier is to run in the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs from 14 to 25 April at 21:30 following performances of Wallace Shawn’s The Fever.
Directed by Stephen Daldry, the performance sees Hare deliver his own creation, which was fed by multiple visits the playwright made to the war-torn region since his first trip while writing Via Dolorosa. It is the partner piece to Berlin, Hare’s study of the German capital, which he performed at the National Theatre earlier this year.
The collaboration between Daldry and Hare has been a fruitful one, featuring, on stage, Wall, Berlin and Via Dolorosa, and on screen Oscar-winning films The Reader and The Hours.
When he initially programmed the piece earlier this month, Royal Court Artistic Director Dominic Cooke said: “In 1997 David wrote his acclaimed Via Dolorosa, the result of a journey to Israel, Gaza and the West Bank. Having regularly returned to the region he has responded with this remarkable investigation into the history and philosophy behind the construction of the separation barrier between these territories. It appears as if our major writers are very moved by the current situation in the Middle East and it’s exciting to be able to open up the debate further on the subject with David’s powerful and informative piece.”
MA