Over Thanksgiving break, my family and I took a trip to London. The trip was fantastic, with some of the highlights being touring Westminster Abby, walking around Oxford, seeing the Crown Jewels at the Tower of London, having high tea, and going to the Royal Albert Hall to see the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra perform some of the best show tunes. But one of the most special parts of the trip was seeing Oslo at the West End.
Most people know about the Israel-Palestine conflict, and how hard it will be to have "peace in the Middle East." What most people don't know is there has already been an almost successful attempt at peace that looked very promising at the time: the Oslo Accords. The straight play "Oslo" is about this peace deal, a secret backchannel between Palestinian and Israeli officials set up by a Norwegian couple, trying to make to make peace. Personally, this show was really special to me because my grandmother, who was sitting next to me, had met most of the characters in real life. She said that the characters were very realistic to their actual personas, and I agree that the show lets the audience see what actually happened.
Like I said, "Oslo" is about the Oslo Accords, set up by a Norwegian couple, Terje (who looked identical to Wadsworth from Clue) and Mona, who every character loves ("without Mona this is nothing" is said multiple times) and is my favorite character. They acknowledge the fact that Norway is neutral on this matter, and talk Palestineans and Israelis into meeting each other at their home in Olso, Norway. As negotiations become more and more successful, Israel upgrades its representatives and Terje and Mona are forced to tell the upper Norwegian officials, while still trying to keep the secret from the Americans and the rest of the world until it is hopefully signed.
Jokes make what should be a tense play more relaxed, but the audience can still feel the pressure of the process. The unusually long three-hour play flies by so it doesn't feel that long. "Oslo" is truly a unique and educational show that means a lot to so many people in the world. ★★★★★
The play "Oslo" sounds very interesting. What I find more interesting is that the power of only two people can cause two countries to finally make peace. In my opinion, however, Palestine is not a legitimate country, and harbors Hamas, a terrorist organization.
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