By Mike Hoban

The Return – Written by Palestinian-Israeli Playwright Hanna Eady and American Playwright Edward Mast; Directed by Guy Ben-Aharon; Scenic Design by Cristina Todesco; Sound Design by David Wilson; Lighting Design by Jeff Adelberg; and Costume Design by Charles Schoonmaker. Presented by Gloucester Stage Company at 267 E. Main St. Gloucester for one night only on July 14 .

Despite its politically charged setting, The Return, the final production of the Israeli Stage Company’s nine-year run is, at its core, a love story – or more precisely, a forbidden love story. Skillfully directed by artistic director Guy Ben-Aharon, this exhilarating two-hander is pretty much guaranteed to produce a visceral reaction in anyone with strong views and/or an emotional attachment to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But for those without any emotional skin in the game, that detachment allows us to see this production as an examination of the inherent evil of tribalism, as played out in the lives of two people who – in a just world – would be free to openly love one another.

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