Entered Israel. No stamp on passport.
From the airport in Tel Aviv, the car sped down the road, which felt excessively wide.
After a sign and a tunnel, Ramallah, the Arab city, appeared suddenly.
Even after the long flights – 20 hours in total, I still couldn’t believe I was in Palestine. Unlike Japan, the soil was white, and so were walls of buildings. But somehow this city felt familiar. It felt so comfortable – as though I’d always been here.
An hour later, George Ibrahim, the artistic director of Al-Kasaba Theatre came to pick us up from our hotel. After warm hugs and greetings, we headed to the theatre, which was a few minutes away on foot.
Our meeting went on till 10pm.
There were too many things to talk about. About Rashomon, about the things each of us had been thinking about, and fresh new ideas that popped up in mind…
To my happy surprise, we could already have a big discussion based on the text. Through each of the protagonists – Tajomaru, Wife, Husband and Judge etc., we could make reflections on our present selves. It’s extremely fortunate that we already share this basis, at this point before the actual creation process.
To sum up the meeting around a table full of Palestinian food and Araq, George said: “We do our best.”
—Yes. That’s exactly how I felt.
