The Bridge – Bush Theatre
“If we can’t laugh at misfortune, what else can we laugh at?” And laugh we did indeed. The Bridge is a play written and performed by Palestinian theatre-maker Alaa Shehada, co-written and directed by Sam Beale. It follows the story of its “hero”, Alaa, as he makes his way from the West Bank to Jordan, crossing a 180-metre bridge and navigating three checkpoints along the way.
Set in a black-box space, the production relies on little more than a stool and a yellow canister, with Alaa making full use of the stage to bring his story to life. It begins with him explaining his annual journey from the West Bank to Jordan, carrying the things his mother packs for her sister, who lives there: little “things that smell of the homeland”. The most important of these is 15 litres of olive oil, made...