Earlier this year, one of the UN's most prominent spokesmen in Jerusalem sparked theatrical controversy by writing and performing an unconventional one-man show.
In "Building Understanding: Epitaph for a Warehouse," UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness becomes the embodiment of the UN's central warehouse in Gaza and relives its final hours as it was set ablaze by Israeli shells during last winter's military offensive against Hamas.
The theatrical piece touched a nerve. At the Tel Aviv debut, one man tried to disrupt the performance by standing up in the middle of the show to challenge Gunness about the story.
After performing in Tel Aviv and at a college class in Sderot (the southern Israeli town hardest-hit by Gaza rockets), Gunness ran into unusual interference.
In August, Organizers in Acre abruptly pulled the plug on the show hours before Gunness was to go on stage.
Undaunted, Gunness set up another show at a theater in Jaffa. Then, days before he was to perform earlier this month, the Jaffa theater canceled the performance.
Some supporters of the show suspect that political pressure is behind the cancellations.
Whatever the case, Gunness is now set to perform "Building Understanding: Epitaph for a Warehouse" in its Jerusalem debut this Wednesday, Oct. 28th, at the French Cultural Center.
The venerable Don Macintyre at The Independent gives us the latest on the controversy.
Gunness said he plans to videotape the show and post it on YouTube so that anyone can see the unusual show.
Who says the Arabs are the only ones practicing censorship in the Middle East?
But in the US, no one would have even considered staging this play, much less pulling the plug on it at the last moment.
Posted by: Ariel | October 25, 2009 at 01:10 PM
The only problem I have with this play is that it deals with a warehouse. Of course it's extremely shocking that the Israeli army deliberately destroyed a UN compound and all the aid paied for by the international community with it. But a warehouse can be repaired, while nothing can bring back to like all the civilians who were killed in Gaza during Operation Cast Lead.
Posted by: Carine | October 30, 2009 at 05:44 AM