NEVERDARK SERIES 2019

Outstanding stories brought to life by expert performers for one-night-only shows.

Sunday, July 14 @ 7:30pm

The Return

Presented and originally staged Israeli Stage Company
by Hanna Eady and Edward Mast

 

In the heart of Israel, a Palestinian mechanic cleans his hands, having spent the day making repairs to the fleet of army vehicles under his care. A Jewish Israeli woman arrives unexpectedly, unannounced. Unwelcomed? As their eyes lock, a chasm opens with a gasp and divides two people, two peoples and the very ground they stand on. Rooted in a painful reality, this mystery unfolds, inviting you for a raw, unsettling experience that asks you what price you’d be willing to pay for peace, love and freedom.

Directed by Guy Ben-Aharon

(listed alphabetically)

Guy Ben-Aharon (Director, Founder & Artistic Director of Israeli Stageis a cultural entrepreneur and stage director committed to contemporary, international voices. Guy has worked on over 50 plays in translation since 2010 through Israeli Stage, Goethe Institut, Austrian Cultural Forum, Alliance Française, swissnex and over 50 academic and community center partners that have presented the programs in the US, Canada, Israel and the UK. Emerson College Alum. Israeli StageUlysses on BottlesOh God (Norton Award for Best Production, Midsize), Days of AtonementThe Last Act.

Hanna Eady (Playwright) is the Founder of the first theatre group in his native village Buqayah, Palestine/Israel. Hanna is also the Founder of New Image Theater in Seattle, where he produced several world premieres; Ibraham’s LandSeeing DoubleUndesirable ElementsSahmata. Having worked at Al-nahid and Al-karmah-Hagifin in Haifa, Hanna has returned home to bring new theatre for Israeli and Palestinian audiences; Alam MattaHajjar El-ArabThe ReturnThe Road to IntifadahLove Tunnel. A long time collaborator with Edward Mast, Hanna has also had the privilege of working with playwright Motti Lerner on the English and Hebrew productions of The Admission.

Edward Mast (Playwright) is a playwright and performer whose plays and solo performances have been seen in New York, Chicago, Seattle, Washington DC, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oxford, Tashkent, Jerusalem, and other cities.  With Hanna Eady he co-wrote Sahmatah: Memory of StonesThe Return, The Love Tunnel, and the upcoming The Mulberry Tree. His other plays include: Tent City Planet, The Million Bells of Ocean, Shearwater River, Sleepwalking Apocalypse and Shadows of Exile.

Philana Mia(Her) Boston theatre credits include: Clybourne Park (SpeakEasy)Not Jenny (Bridge Rep), Melancholy Play (Holland Productions), I Capture the Castle (Stoneham Theater), Matt & Ben (Central Square), The Pain and the Itch (Company One), and The Wonderful World of Dissocia (Apollinaire). Film: Whaling CitySilver Circle, & Wait for Laugh, which was an official selection at Palm Springs International Shorts Film Festival and HollyShorts in Los Angeles. Member of AEA & SAG-AFTRA. Israeli Stage: reading of Best Friends.

Nael Nacer* (Him) is excited to join his first full production at Israeli Stage after performing in numerous staged readings. Recent Credits include: Small Mouth Sounds (SpeakEasy), Macbeth; Equivocation (Actors’ Shakespeare Project), True WestThe Flick (IRNE Award, Gloucester Stage), Calendar Girls (Greater Boston Stage Company), Constellations (Central Square Theatre), A Doll’s HouseBedroom Farce (IRNE Award); Come Back, Little ShebaAwake and Sing!The Seagull and Our Town (IRNE Award, Huntington Theatre), Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play; Intimate Apparel (Elliot Norton Award, Lyric Stage), 45 Plays for 45 Presidents (Merrimack Rep), A Number (New Repertory Theatre), Rhinoceros (Boston Playwrights’ Theatre), and Shear Madness (Charles Playhouse).

This performance at Gloucester Stage will be a paired down production, but original designers at Israeli Stage are listed below:
Lighting Design – Jeff Adelberg**
Technical Direction – Ben Lieberson
Costume Design – Charles Scoonmaker**
Scenic Design – Cristina Todesco**
Sound Design – David Wilson**

*Member of Actors’ Equity Association (AEA)
**Represented by United Scenic Artists, Local USA-829 of IATSE

Press Response from original production at Israeli Stage:

  • alive with emotion”, “the performances…vibrate with tension and yearning”, “a starter of fiery conversations”, “powerfully affecting” raves WBUR’s The Artery
  • “This is must-see theater,” declares DigBoston “There has not been a more taut, better-acted production this spring,” “directed with staggering intensity
  • “A heated and life-altering exchange”, “Extraordinarily modulated, detailed, emotional performances”, Joyce Kulhawik swoons, “YOU MUST SEE this final production
  • “A taut, politically charged two-hander,” “Israeli Stage demonstrated the outsize impact a leader of a small theater company can have if he is driven by a passionate sense of mission”, read more at The Boston Globe
  • Provocative and extraordinary,” says The Jewish Journal, “the writing, acting, and directing are brilliant.” “One of the highlights of the season,” writes Michael Hoban of Theater Mirror, “skillfully directed”, “exhilarating“, and “superb.” “Beautifully taut and artfully conceived“, and “powerfully compelling“, writes Boston Arts Diary
  • Learn more through features in The Boston GlobeThe Brookline TabMetroWest DailyEdge Media Network and Theater Mirror and WBUR 90.0