With the recent release of the film version of Oslo on HBO, I thought it worth revisiting my brief thoughts on the stage version at Lincoln Center some years back during a trip to New York. I missed the Japanese version at Tokyo’s New National Theatre back in February. I was wondering how the general lack of knowledge here about (or interest in) Middle Eastern affairs might affect the characterizations; even accents are rarely used to distinguish varying nationalities, i.e., everyone speaks standard Japanese, sometimes making it hard to figure out who is who. It apparently sold well, helped by a starry cast, so hopefully there will be revival at some point.

Oslo (May 13, 2017)

My second Norway-based show this trip [after A Doll’s House Part 2]. An imagined account of the Norwegian-engineered secret talks between Israel and the PLO that led, we know now, to nothing. The play puts together a highly plausible account of the behind-the-scenes negotiations, where Arabs meet a Jew for the first time and Jews realize the utter passion (however misplaced) of the Palestinians. The idea that the sides can become friends if they just get together is sweet; bummer about the reality. The show also shows the struggles by the low-ranking Norwegian diplomats to win approval from their ministry for talks, since failure would be disastrous for them, dangerous for the Israelis (who are breaking the law by meeting the PLO) and literally deadly for the Palestinians. The show ties these strands together with great skill. If it didn’t happen this way, it should have.

The play is long and very talky, but dialogue at that level (as in Doll’s House 2) is okay by me. The affair was dramatized credibly and entertainingly. I was intrigued by the revelation that the Palestinian negotiator, who often left the room to, as he said, confirm details with Arafat, was not actually speaking with Arafat at all but simply staring at a wall until an appropriate period had passed. Whether or not that’s factual, it rings true given subsequent events.

There was typically smooth staging by Bartlett Sher, with a shift of chairs and the use of lifts with desks taking us swiftly from Oslo to Tel Aviv to Washington to outside the negotiating room to inside and more. Characters were sharply delineated, benefiting from solid acting, especially by the main Palestinian and Jewish negotiators. The evening passed very quickly. Strongly recommended. (As a side note, it made me recall what an idiot that I, and everyone, was at the time for thinking that Arafat was taking any of these talks seriously. And history is already repeating itself. The hope-filled ending of the show is an eye-roller, though it probably does reflect the dreamy desire of the Norwegians to think they accomplished something. But enough politics.)