'The Return,' a Palestinian Story Onstage, Gets an Extended Run

by Agueda Pacheco Flores

The Return is a play that has to be watched; it can't be explained or summarized. At least, that's what playwright Hanna Eady says.

"I can't tell you too much about the plot, because the way the structure works is that it unfolds as the audience would watch it," said Eady, adding that it's a mystery.

Called "politically charged" by The Boston Globe and a play that makes you "feel the pressure of the security state" by The Washington Post, The Return follows the story of a Palestinian Arabic man and a Jewish Israeli woman who meet at an auto-repair shop in modern-day Israel. Dunya Productions sold out its shows at Cherry Street Village in October and November, leading to a weeklong extended run from Nov. 30 through Dec. 3.

Co-written by Eady, a Palestinian-born playwright, and his longtime collaborator and playwright Edward Mast (both based in Seattle), this production marks the play's Seattle premiere. Its worldwide premiere was held in Israel's Al-Midan Theater. It was staged to both Palestinian and Israeli audiences there in 2014, but Israel's Ministry of Culture and Sport shut the production down after only three performances and subsequently defunded the theater.

"It's almost like looking at the other side, the side that lives with you in the same country but back to back. You never really knew what they think and feel behind closed doors, so we exposed them to each other," said Eady. "That was powerful and strong, and the Minister of Culture did not like to see the audience exposed to that type of material [because] it's the truth and they live a lie that the Palestinians aren't there, that they aren't real people, they don't have feelings, they don't fall in love, they're terrorists."

The Return is as much about the Israeli—Palestinian conflict as it is about the repercussions a decades-long occupation can have on the lives of everyday people.

Dunya Productions had planned its Seattle premiere long before the events of Oct. 7, but Eady says the play remains timely not because of what happened on Oct. 7, but because this conflict and occupation has been going on for the past 75 years.

While the play doesn't feature bombs or attacks, Eady says The Return is "the essence of what's going on."

Mast, who has co-written many other plays with Eady, says the purpose of the play is to raise awareness and engagement around what's happening in Palestine and the Palestinian cause.

Eady, who is now 66 and produced his first play in Palestine when he was still a teenager, wants this production to give people hope — the type of hope he saw in Palestinians after the performance of his first play so many years ago.

"I knew then that this was a powerful tool — theater," he said.

Tickets for The Return's Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, 2, and 3 performances are available at Dunya Production's website. General admission tickets cost $25 plus fees. Proceeds from the Dec. 1 show will go toward the Palestine Children's Relief Fund.

📸 Featured Image: Tristan Johnson and Anna Daines in "The Return," a play about a Palestinian Arabic man and a Jewish Israeli woman who meet at an auto-repair shop in modern-day Israel. (Photo: Samia El-Moslimani, courtesy of Dunya Productions)