I mention to Adi that the name of Hassan’s puppet, Fadil, is spelled in Arabic with a dod (ص), or emphatic D. Adi, who speaks Arabic much better than I do, rolls his eyes and says, “Oh, you enjoyed telling me that, didn’t you?” I blush, embarrassed to be caught out showing off, and he reassures me that he’s just giving me a hard time, but he’s right; I am a show-off. Ah well. Dammit, people; I did a lot of research! I can’t put all of it in the play, and it has to go somewhere. So usually it comes spilling out of my mouth. In truth, though: I think it’s all fascinating, from the list of items banned from import into Gaza to the relationship of Israel to the life and death of Yiddish, and I naively suppose that everybody wants to hear about it.
Lucy directs Nate and Adi in a scene where Quentin and Hassan stand together in Hassan’s house. She tells Nate to expand the borders of the house. Initially, I find this kind of mysterious; earlier in the scene, we’d indicated that half the stage represented Jakob’s house in Tel Aviv. But as Nate walks, or rather trots with Quentin’s puppyish enthusiasm, across the space, and Adi, with Hassan’s patience, strolls after him, I see what she means -- it’s like the effect in film where a split-screen slides away to leave a whole picture of a single place. God, I’m glad they put up with me.
No comments:
Post a Comment