Appalled at current events in Gaza, Caryl Churchill wrote this 10-minute play in mid-January 2009 and by 6 February that year – i.e. in less that a month – it was on stage at the Royal Court.* So much for the notion that theatre is unable to be responsive to history in-the-making.

Performed two years later, at Wellington St Andrew’s on The Terrace (Monday-Friday this week 12.30, 1.15 and 5.30pm), in the context of the extraordinary uprisings throughout the Middle East that have been and are being met with varying responses, it serves to remind us that the Israel / Palestine conflict continues and remains far from resolved.

Four actors play out seven variations, initiated by the recurring phrase “Tell her …” and mostly including “Don’t frighten her” and “Don’t tell her that!” Thus Caryl Churchill distils 70-odd years of Jewish history, succinctly showing how the victim becomes the perpetrator.

We are instantly engaged with the universal dilemma about how much children should be told about horrific events; how much they should be protected from or exposed to the truth. What unfolds is not so much a high-level plot to misrepresent reality as an insight into how easily history can become selective and how each generation can perceive events in ways that justify further atrocity.

Led (as the programme puts it) by Jane Waddell, actors K C Kelly, Dee O’Connor, Chantelle Brader and Ricky Dey draw us into their realities and dilemmas simply by being fully immersed in the phase of history each sequence addresses. The result is powerful.

Different vintages of writing implements, telephones and recording devices indicate the time, with our exact understanding of what they are talking about depending on our grip on Jewish history from the pogroms against Jews in Eastern Europe and their eviction, to the establishment of Israel and the subsequent conflicts with Palestine. The programme does, however, enumerate 14 events to which the play may allude in its seven beats.  

The final speech from an Israeli soldier shows how dehumanising extended warfare can be, and this is the bit that allows the play to be accused of being one-sided. Doubtless a Hamas character could justify and even relish violent retribution in a similar fashion. But that’s not the point.

As a specific examination of how a victim becomes a perpetrator it resonates well beyond itself while leaving us with plenty to ponder about where truth lies. A recording of Erik Sati’s ‘Gymnopédies’ sets the pre-performance mood and provides just the right ambience for post-performance reflection.

It is refreshing to see theatre used this way. Caryl Churchill sees the play as a political event so gives the rights gratis provided admission is free and a collection is taken at the end of each performance, with all proceeds going to the charity Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP).

(Robust discussion on this site welcome, especially from those who see the play.)
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*It played after Marius von Mayenburg’s The Stone, which covers 60 years of German history from 1934-1993, which The Guardian’s Michael Billington says “shows how German children are often the victims of lies about family history.”
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