Masada (1990)
A Play by Arthur Milner
RSVP and Advance tickets at bottom of page
First performed in 1990, Masada is as witty and insightful as it is daring and courageous. Canadian playwright Arthur Milner uses Masada to walk the audience through the tortured history of modern Zionism from biblical days to Roman times to the present (1990) and to the logical future we see today with each passing day. Masada is a masterful inquiry into Zionism and political life in Israel.
Masada is written as a "lecture" delivered by a visiting Israeli historian to an audience at a Jewish community centre in Canada. It serves as an erudite and jam-packed study in the dangers of arrogance and over-confidence. At once, irreverent and serious, funny and sad, Masada treats the audience to a roller coaster of facts and myths and disquieting possibilities.
As fresh and relevant today as in 1990, Masada is revived by Beit Zatoun for a Toronto performance because it deserves a new generation of listeners. The staged reading features Richard Greenblatt and is directed by Arthur Milner.
To be followed by talkback with the playwright and actor.
"One of the greatest examples of artistic moral courage I've ever witnessed ...leads its audience to onto very slippery moral ground and leaves the audience to grope for his or her own answers." - Ottawa Sun
"theatre stripped to its essence...a challenging piece of work...factually fascinating and a skillful piece of writing...driven by a powerful and frightening logic." - Now Magazine
About the Play
Masada premiered in January 1990 at the Great Canadian Theatre Company in Ottawa, directed by Steven Bush.
About Arthur Milner
Arthur Milner grew up in Montreal and has lived in the Ottawa area since 1971. He is a playwright and director with a long association with the Great Canadian Theatre Company (GCTC), where he was resident playwright and Artistic Director. His plays include Cheap Thrill, Zero Hour, Learning to Live with Personal Growth, It’s not a Country, it’s Winter, Crusader of the World, and Facts. Facts had a staged reading at Beit Zatoun last October and, in August, was produced in Toronto as part of the SummerWorks Festival. In September and October, Facts, in Arabic translation, will tour the West Bank and Israel.
Arthur Milner has taught playwriting at Concordia University and the history of Modern Drama at Carleton University. He is a past president of the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres, and is an editor of Inroads, The Canadian Journal of Opinion.
About Richard Greenblatt
Richard Greenblatt has been acting, directing, writing and making music in theatre, film, TV and radio in Canada and abroad for the past 37 years. He recently concluded 2 Pianos 4 Hands, which he co-wrote.
Purchase ADVANCE tickets $10 using credit cards (via PayPal)
or at Beit Zatoun (check for open hours).
Tickets at the door. Limited seats; general seating.
Masada and FACTS are available in a single book edition ($10). Copies will be available for sale and the playwright will be available for signing.
Sponsored by Beit Zatoun, Independent Jewish Voices (IJV - ijvcanada.org) and United Jewish People's Order (UJPO - www.ujpo.org)
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Need to know:
- Doors open at 6:45
- Tickets $10
- Accessible on demand via portable ramp; washrooms not accessible
Tasty refreshments (non-alcoholic) and Zatoun oliveoil+za'atar dipping.