Plan D at Tristan Bates Theatre in London

The Tristan Bates Theatre on Tower Street in London, is a self-professed ’thorn in the side of the west end.’ It has a reputation for staging innovative and powerful plays and Plan D is no exception.

Written by actress and playwright Hannah Khalil, winner of the 2007 Special Commendation in the Verity Bargate Award for her moving play ’Stolen or Strayed,’ Plan D is a far-reaching account of a family with deep buried secrets set during the 1948 war between Israel and Palestine. When the family is visited by a cousin who brings warning of a powerful and unseen force, they must decide whether they can trust him.

In what is a complex political issue, the story is inspired by first hand accounts of Palestinian Arabs who survived the atrocities that eventually led to the State of Israel commandeering Arab territory that is still being fought over today.

The mounting troubles in the Middle East began when the United Nations declared Israel independence and recognised it as a State within its own right in the Middle East. Already fraught with tension the relationships between Israel and bordering Arab nations deteriorated and Israel found itself under attack.

Having successfully defended all fronts, Israel moved to expand the territory granted to them by the United Nations at the expense of many Palestinian Arabs. The war left many Palestinians, dead or severely wounded. Many survivors found themselves homeless and persecuted.

Khalil uses the tense situation of the Holy Land to reflect the mistrust and tension between the family and visiting cousin which have had reviewers in Ireland drooling. Writing in Culture, Jane Coyle remarked:

"a play whose subject matter is heartbreakingly apt for these fraught times... a little piece of narrative magic."

Plan D runs at the Tristan Bates Theatre from 26^th January to 13^th February. Tickets cost between £7-£10 and booking in advance is recommended as some nights are already sold out.

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