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Blogs / Local Buzz / Summer 2010 / Controversial play offers voice of hope

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Controversial play offers voice of hope

The death of 23-year-old activist Rachel Corrie in 2003 drew international attention to the continuing Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Gaza. Corrie’s story of strength and suffering both inspired and angered those who heard the tale. After Corrie’s death, various plays and written works attempted to piece together a portrait of who the young activist was.
 

Through the play, My Name is Rachel Corrie, director and presenter Jonathan Kane hopes to help viewers see the world through Corrie’s idealistic eyes. The one-hour play will be read twice this week by local actress Charlotte Hemmings at the nexStage Theater in Ketchum. Play times are Tuesday, July 13 and Wednesday, July 14, 2010, at 7 p.m. The performance is free of charge.
  

My Name is Rachel Corrie tells the true story of a girl who grew up in Olympia, Washington, and traveled to Gaza her senior year in college to work with the International Solidarity Movement, a Palestinian group focused on nonviolent resistance to the Israeli occupation. Corrie died in Gaza after being crushed by a bulldozer while trying to stop the demolition of a Palestinian home. The play is a compilation of Corrie’s journal entries and e-mails edited by Alan Rickman and Catharine Viner.
 

Although the reading was performed in the Valley in March 2010, this week’s readings will include Corrie’s parents, who will attend both showings and conduct a question and answer session following the piece.
 

The contentious nature of Corrie’s death, especially with regard to whether it was accidental or intentional, has caused any coverage, even through the arts, to spur heated debate. The controversial play has been postponed and protested at various showings across the nation.
 

My Name is Rachel Corrie was first performed in 2005 in London and was critically acclaimed. It was scheduled to open in New York in March 2006, but the production was postponed because of concern about the political climate and did not run until October 2006, at a different theater than initially planned.
 

Kane said the reading earlier this year in Ketchum was well received and incredibly successful.
 

“I feel the play really rises above the politics and tells the story of a very unique woman,” Kane said. “I think it’s such an incredible piece that people should come see it and judge for themselves.”
 

The first third of the play tells the story of Corrie’s life while growing up in Olympia and the remaining two-thirds covers her experiences in Palestine. Kane described it as one of the most extraordinary pieces he’s ever seen and that Hemmings is one of the most talented people he has ever worked with.
 

Despite the seven years that have passed since Corrie’s death, Kane insists the play is as relevant as ever. Corrie’s death drew a great deal of media coverage to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Since her death, the conflict and home demolitions similar to the one Corrie attempted to stop have continued.
 

Kane encourages the community to attend the reading, saying Corrie’s idealism and honest hope are a good reminder of what everyone should try to find in life above the cynicism and struggles we encounter daily.