Photo by T. Charles Erickson
Congratulations to the newly-crowned Tony Award-winning "Best Play" Oslo - our #ShowOfTheWeek! It seems as if audiences cannot get enough of J.T. Rogers' new drama which won over the critics during its off-Broadway engagement at Lincoln Center Theater's Mitzi E. Newhouse last year and was granted a swift move upstairs to the company's larger (and Broadway credited) venue of the Vivian Beaumont Theater, where it once again opened to rave reviews on April 13. Since then, the Bartlett Sher-helmed production has also announced a transfer to London's National Theatre and a subsequent move into the West End and there is even talk of a film adaptation in the works. So why is this political thriller grabbing Tonys and making headlines?
Although the majority of the set and costumes are grey, the story unfolding on the stage is anything but. Full disclosure: this writer loves to stay clear of politics - both during dinner party conversations and at the theatre - but consider me converted thanks to this importantly accessible and well-balanced drama that compresses the overwhelmingly complicated intricacies of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Middle East into almost three hours of unmissable theatre.
The subject of the play is, of course, the Oslo Peace Accords and Mr. Rogers has written a piece which utilises a handful of key figures, who took part in the negotiations, and expresses in his own words how the seemingly impossible came to pass. Our accompanying guides down the long and winding road are past Tony winners Jefferson Mays and Jennifer Ehle, who play Norwegian couple Terje Rød-Larsen and Mona Juul - the catalysts and instigators of the accords - and both earned Tony nominations at this year's ceremony. These two astonishing actors frequently break the fourth wall in an effort to bring us up to speed on the exposition. I wouldn't want to claim that Rogers has created an incarnation of "Conflict in the Middle East for Dummies," however, I was admittedly grateful for Terje and Mona's interjections. The subject matter is so dense and in this respect, the playwright encourages us to stay afloat and digest the necessary ingredients.
Terje's notion of gradualism - "rooted not in the organizational but the personal" - stand in direct contrast to the failing peace talks in Washington. He states: "It is only through the sharing of the personal that we can see each other for who we truly are." And off we go... Indeed, perhaps some of the most memorable moments of the play occur when the conflicting political ideals of the characters are stripped away and universally human interests are embraced. Israelis and Palestinians sharing a fondness together for Norwegian waffles is a picture that will be etched in my mind for years to come.
Congratulations also goes to cast member Michael Aronov, who gives quite the show-stealing performance as Uri Savir and was just rewarded with a Tony Award for his efforts, beating the likes of Danny DeVito and Nathan Lane to the prize!
The gifted ensemble of actors - some playing multiple roles - are complimented in the production by large projections of archive news footage, both historic and harrowing. With minimal furniture and set pieces, the projections transport us from a snowy wood in Oslo to the Rose Garden of The White House in the blink of an eye and even though, the Vivian Beaumont's stage is spacious, the blocking of the scenes from within the negotiating room still feel claustrophobic enough, as if we were flies on the wall, privileged to be witnessing history being made before us.
If you've always thought that politics wasn't your thing, Oslo might just be the greatest step you could take to broadening your horizons thanks to its crucially accessible nature.
Click here for tickets to Oslo for performances through to July 16, 2017 at Broadway's Vivian Beaumont Theater.
Jennifer Ehle & Jefferson Mays in Oslo More Production PhotosOriginally published on