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Both theatre artists and educators believe the theatre has many advantages as a vehicle for the promotion of social and political issues. This study examines how the Israeli theatre represents the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and promotes peace and tolerance among young people. The study, conducted between the years 2005 and 2007, included 26 in-depth interviews with various creators (playwrights, directors and actors), who intended their plays to be seen by adult and high school audiences, mapping out and analysing the themes of 36 plays that dealt with the Israeli–Palestinian conflict from different angles. This article will present the main findings of 22 focus groups held with 110 teenagers about six sample plays that were chosen. Analysis of the findings shows that the plays provided the teenagers with new information about difficulties the Palestinian population has to deal with, and deepened their thinking about issues and dilemmas related to the occupation. However, watching the plays in the schoo...

This study, initiated and funded by The Israel Anti-Drug Authority, investigated adolescents’ reactions to professionally produced anti-drug plays, performed in 27 schools across Israel. The study included observations and the analyses of 20 professionally produced anti-drug plays performed during the school year and interviews with theatre personnel. The analysis of the plays’ narratives revealed that most plays had a melodramatic narrative based on a ‘true story’ and most depicted the downfall of a protagonist who became addicted to drugs. By the very choice of a closed, melodramatic structure, that precludes alternatives and a deep discussion of issues, these plays created an undivided hero, devoid of conflicts and ambivalence, who has no personal responsibility for his actions and the people around him and moves in a narrow private world that does not relate to the values and norms surrounding the issue of drugs.

Educational drama has been embraced as a promising way to address sensitive and highly-charged issues among youth. An Israeli drama, Backyard Games, about gang rape, based on an actual case in a kibbutz [a communal settlement] called Shomrat, is considered the definitive work on the subject in Israeli theatre. Written by Edna Mazya and directed by Oded Kotler, at the Haifa Municipal Theatre, the play was inspired by the real-life story of a famous rape at Kibbutz Shomrat. The play has been performed more than 1,000 times throughout Israel,1 embraced by critics and audiences and has had successful runs in several other countries. Since the play debuted, Edna Mazya has become a sought-after and successful playwright and director in the Israeli repertory theatre. The play has also been performed in numerous high schools for student audiences as part of an educational effort to raise awareness regarding the issue of rape. Backyard Games is a rhetorically and aesthetically powerful performance that engages and...