Dai (Enough)

When it comes to discussing bias in the news media, the Israel-Palestine conflict is never usually far away. Whether it’s the alleged pro-Israel leanings of US networks or the supposed pro-Palestinian stance of the BBC, news reports rarely delve beyond the sensationalism of death counts. In her gripping one-woman play, Iris Bahr goes some way to rectifying this situation, presenting the ordinary, everyday narratives that are key to understanding the fractured Israeli psyche.

Set in a crowded Tel-Aviv café, Dai follows a British-Syrian TV reporter, minutes before a devastating suicide bomb attack. Infuriated at her editor’s accusations of pro-Palestinian bias, the reporter sets about interviewing an array of nearby Israelis. She encounters a range of passers-by including a shallow Holywood actress, a Palestinian intellectual and the father of an army deserter. Each talk briefly but candidly to the camera before the deafening blast of the bomb cuts them short.

Bahr was brought up in Israel from the age of 13 and her nuanced understanding of the country allows her to create every character with loving detail. The absurd actress who thinks suicide bombing is “edgy”, the fanatical mother-of seven who’s become consumed by her own anger and the escaped Jewish princess battling with the claustrophobia of returning to a troubled land (“It’s like everyone’s in your veins here”).

These conflicting and often comic Israeli voices are wonderfully observed and Bahr brings them to life with an impressive range of dialects and mannerisms. She seems to understand perfectly the splintered nature of Israel’s national identity, where some cling desperately to the soil and others long for a peaceful compromise.

Although some may point to the lack of a Palestinian voice in Dai (there is only one Palestinian character, who is arguably sympathetic to the Israeli cause), in truth the play is not a polemic. On the contrary, in an era of increasing media soundbite, Bahr’s aim, perfectly executed, is to present a brutally frank and darkly funny account of the narratives we rarely hear.