"Via Dolorosa" is English playwright David Hare's absorbing first- person account of his trip to the Middle East a few years ago. In the intermissionless one-man play, Hare (played by David Bryan Jackson) says the journey is in keeping with the running theme of his latest plays: faith.
In fact, "Via Dolorosa" may be the quintessential David Hare play for a not entirely different reason: It is peopled by passionate intellectual figures who toss their conflicting ideologies in the audience's collective lap. As a playwright, Hare often ferrets out political opposites; in the Middle East, they are laid out on his plate. All Hare has to do is pose this recurring question: Which is the way forward?
It's a depressing time to present this play, of course, given the recent wave of casualties and diplomatic setbacks. With its artist's reportage and provocative reflections ("Israel doesn't belong here," Hare thinks at one point, to his own shock), "Via Dolorosa" certainly sets the table.