The latest production in Theater J’s Voices From a Changing Middle East Festival is a fascinating blend of fiction and fact by Boaz Gaon and Nir Erez: “Boged: An Enemy of the People.” “Boged,” which means “traitor,” is based on Henrik Ibsen’s “An Enemy of the People,” a play about two brothers who invest heavily in baths for the sake of increased revenue from tourism.
But just as the baths become successful, one brother, a scientist, discovers that waste products from the town’s tannery are contaminating the waters. He tells his brother, the mayor, who chooses to ignore the truth.
“Boged” is set in the present day in the southern Israeli desert. Like Ibsen’s scientist, Gaon’s and Erez’s main character desperately tries to get his brother, the mayor, to stop building factories that are contaminating underground wells.
| Onstage |
| ‘Boged: An Enemy of the People’ |
| Where: Gonda Theater, Georgetown University Performing Arts Center, 37th and O streets NW |
| When: Through Feb. 3 |
| Info: $25 to $60; 800-494-8497; washingtondcjcc.org |
“This play fits perfectly into our season since it’s about everything that’s happening in Israel right now,” said Ari Roth, artistic director of Theater J. “The play deals with issues that are relevant not just to Israel but to social protest movements throughout the Middle East. The idea is that we’re living in a fragile environment, a sensitive ecosystem of the desert, whether you’re talking about the Negev Desert or the Sinai Desert.
“You need to look not only at the international disputes but at the intranational fighting that is going on in different sectors in the Israeli economy and society to get a full portrait of a very live dynamic. No country is a monolith. It’s made up of many different components, and this play illustrates that.”
The director for “Boged” is Joseph Megel, a former Theater J director and co-artistic director of StreetSigns Center for Literature and Performance in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Although Gaon and Erez patterned their play close to Ibsen’s original, the framework of fact in “Boged” can’t be denied. “There’s an actual town in the desert where this story took place, Ramat Hovav,” said Megel. “The event didn’t happen exactly as the play suggests, but something like it happened.
“The story has some abstractions to it. It’s very real but also gives the sense of a ‘limbo’ space. We wanted to create recognizable things that seem very Israeli but are at the same time also universal and relate to this Theater J audience.”
Theater J is producing “Boged” in partnership with Georgetown University. “The nice thing about being at Georgetown is its connection to international politics and cultural diplomacy,” said Megel. “Being here allows Theater J to reach deeper and create a unique partnership with the diplomatic and international community.”
