On & Off Broadway

‘Oslo’

Review by Elyse Trevers

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If you ever really wanted to be in the room where it happened, here’s your chance. What you read in the papers and hear on the evening news may not be the truth – especially when it concerns Middle East peace talks.

In the latest offering at Lincoln Center, ‘Oslo,’ by J.T.Rogers (Blood and Gifts), the audience becomes privy to the behind-the-scenes maneuverings of the Oslo Peace Accords of 1993.

Jennifer Ehle plays Mona Juul, a Norwegian official in the Foreign Ministry, who along with her husband, Terje (Jefferson Mays), broker unofficial and unsanctioned secret meetings between Israelis and Palestinians. The designated Israeli participants were professors from Haifa since it was illegal for government officials to participate in talks with the PLO. As the first document begins to take shape, the importance of the negotiators in the talks change and soon Shimon Peres, the Israeli Foreign minister, is made aware of what is going on.


This compact play — as compact as any three-hour play can be — depicts nine months of secret meetings. As official peace talks were going on elsewhere in the country, an unofficial back channel was opened. Terje's theory was to put the two sides in a room where people could say whatever they want without a moderator. He and his wife merely facilitated the arrangements. Sometimes the audience watches the secret talks but at other times must stay with Mona and Terje as they wait outside the closed meeting room.

Although the events are real, the characters based on real people are somewhat stereotypical. The professors are disheveled and doofy; one makes his entrance telling jokes. The Israeli official Uri Savir (Michael Aronov) is overbearing and brash and Israel’s lawyer, Joel Singer, is imperious. The head of the Palestinian delegation, Hassan Asfour (Dariush Kashani), is alternatively suave and arrogant.

While the play is based on real people and real history, the playwright notes that “this is his history.”

Mona is our narrator putting a face on the events, commenting even as very real and frightening events unfold on the wall behind the stage. She provides the touch of reality, affection and, on occasion, even humor. Ehle is warm and believable. Jefferson Mays, a marvelous actor, is confident and strong-willed as Terje.

The production is a wonderful piece of theater, especially given how much is done with so little. There’s minimal staging and a well-chosen talented cast. The dialogue, reminiscent of an Aaron Sorkin screenplay, has actors talking over and interrupting each other – much like in real life.
The length may be problematic for some theatergoers and keep them from attending.

The play also poses some unanswered questions. Asked why he's brokering peace talks, especially since the clandestine meetings can potentially destroy both his and his wife’s careers, Terje gives no satisfactory response. It’s unclear as to why both sides unfairly mock Terje in a scene after their secret discussions. There’s also a silver-haired American diplomat who, although unnamed, seems to have authority. Could that be Clinton?

By the end, the accord is signed. As with other historical plays, the audience knows the conclusion before the play begins. Yet the ending of ‘Oslo’ is profoundly moving. Within a short time, violence resumes and people are killed. Yet Shavir and Asfour continue to stay in touch, having bonded over the coincidence of their daughters having the same name (Maya) and a desire for a peaceful world for their families.

Ultimately the Accords did little to no good and only secured a short-lived peace. One has only to read the papers to wonder, as Mona did, if this was worth doing.