My Name is Rachel Corrie

From the Globe and Mail last week:

VANCOUVER - Does the “theatre” that seems to surround the Alan Rickman/Katharine Viner play My Name Is Rachel Corrie dwarf the actual drama?

With the play condemned by some protesters as being a one-sided portrayal of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, in North America the answer is often yes.

While the play, which dramatizes the writings of the 23-year-old American peace activist crushed to death by an Israeli bulldozer in 2003, was a hit at London’s Royal Court theatre when it made its debut in April, 2005, it was cancelled by the New York Theatre workshop the following spring because of the concerns of Jewish groups.

It was also cancelled last year at Toronto’s CanStage after alleged pressure from some board members. During a run at the Seattle Repertory Theatre last spring, pro-Israeli groups condemned the play as “anti-Semitic” and started a protest website called Rachel Corrie Facts. And at a recent staging in Montreal, protesters dropped leaflets containing photos of the “other Rachels” - images of Israeli women named Rachel who had been killed by suicide bombers.

But in Vancouver, it seems, the show will go on, and on Sunday a forum of Palestinian, Jewish and Canadian speakers discussed the play. Neworld Theatre, which is co-producing My Name Is Rachel Corrie with Montreal’s Teesri Duniya Theatre, actually signed a deal with the Havana Theatre, where the play opens on Friday, stating that it would not cancel the performance. More…

I haven’t read it (don’t want to until later) but for those who are interested…

Like the dead activist, she stands alone, naive but caring

PAT DONNELLY, The Gazette - Published: Saturday, December 15

Was it truly murder with intent or was it a heavy-equipment accident akin to recent deadly snowplow incidents in Montreal? Was Corrie as heroic as the tank man in Tiananmen Square? Or did the International Solidarity Movement, of which she was a member, recklessly endanger her life? More…

Rachel Corrie’s parents say play ‘humanizes’ activist daughter

My Name is Rachel Corrie, a play about the American activist killed by an Israeli army bulldozer in the Gaza Strip, has just opened in Montreal with Corrie’s parents in attendance.

The controversial play explores Corrie’s experiences in Gaza and has been lambasted by some as a naive, one-sided account of the Israeli-Palestinian divide. more…

By Natasha Greenblatt
Culture Writer

American college student Rachel Corrie was 23 when she was killed by an Israeli bulldozer in the Gaza Strip, March 16, 2003. Some of her emails home, released by Corrie’s parents after her death and serialized in The Guardian newspaper, caught the attention of British actor Alan Rickman. After receiving a large package of previously unreleased journals, emails, and to-do lists from Corrie’s parents, Rickman and journalist Katharine Vinerthey edited them into a play. It opened to sold out houses in London before making the trip to New York. more…

Becoming Rachel
Brett Hooton and Stefan Christoff

Montreal tackles the much-hyped biographical play about a martyred activist, My Name Is Rachel Corrie. More…

photo: Roger Aziz

KATHRYN GREENAWAY, The Gazette - November 28, 2007

“Ultimately, you want people to come to a (cultural) event with an open mind,” Corrie’s father Craig said.” Approached without any political leanings, the play is a personal story about a young woman who had a unique way of seeing life. And there is humour. Rachel could be very funny. It is not 90 minutes of hand-wringing at the state of the world.” More…

Rachel Corrie play will feature at B.C.’s PuSh fest

PuSh announces its season. We are in it.

Check it.

(I’m not sure how long the article will be accessible on the Globe site for free…)

This is a recent article from the CBC website:

“Small theatres bring controversial Rachel Corrie play to Canada”

http://www.cbc.ca/arts/theatre/rachel_corrie.html