The following reviews of Dov and Ali are available:
By Jonathan Gibbs
Posted: Jun 16 2008
It's frustrating to come out of a play that works so well on stage, and hits all its targets fair and square, but fails to push its ideas beyond the limits of what you already expect, to what might shock or surprise you. At the centre of Anna Ziegler’s Detroit-set play, are, like the title says, Dov and Ali. Dov is a Jewish high-school English teacher, and Ali a precocious Muslim pupil, who always seems to be picking a fight. The two of them clash over William Golding’s ‘Lord of the Flies’; Dov preaching free will (he’s the angsty, agnostic son of a rabbi), while Ali spouts a more dogmatic view of humanity that seems to come direct from Allah, the Koran, his father – or all three.
At first, Ziegler looks like she’s produced a modern response to David Mamet’s famously controversial ‘Oleanna’, using a similar teacher-pupil power struggle to explore religion, instead of gender issues. While Ali and Dov bash out their differences in class, away from school both lives are heading out of control. Dov rejects his shiksa girlfriend Sonya, and Ali tips his father off about his sister Sameh’s disreputable boyfriend. And it is Kiran Landa’s Sameh, decked out in a hijab, who is narrating the story – from somewhere that is definitely not Detroit.
Debut director Alex Sims certainly earns his wings with this assured production, which boasts a striking pair of performances by James Floyd as the intense Ali, and Ben Turner as Dov, with Orla Fitzgerald as Sonya. I just wanted an interval, a gear change, and another act.
The article in its original context on the Time Out Website
By Kate Jackson
Posted: Jun 13 2008
There are a lot of intelligent things to be said about Anna Ziegler’s Dov and Ali, after all, it is a play which faces up to burning issues that are relevant to us all, but there is really only one thing that needs to be said. Go and see it.
Ziegler tackles powerful issues with a gentle human perspective. Setting her play in a high school in Detroit, she follows the psychological trauma suffered by a young boy, Ali, when he realises in the most brutal of ways that his greatest role model, his ultra religious father, is not always right. Seeking answers, Ali turns his attention to a gawkish English teacher who happens to be the son of a Rabbi, and who is, in turn, struggling to find a relevant place in his life for religion. Both men are haunted by the presence of a female in their lives, but it seems that Ali’s demons are somewhat more distant.
Dov and Ali is a powerhouse play that drives its way through an hour and a half of twists and turns about race, individuality, human relations and role models. Despite the rocky terrain the people at the steering wheel are clearly in control.
Morgan Large’s set design is outstanding, and is seamlessly complimented by David Holmes’ immaculate use of lighting which moves us between noisy classroom and intimate home within seconds, but the real finesse of this piece comes from the actors. The four strong cast work together as a team throughout and buoy each other along in a turbulent sea of emotion and pain. Ben Turner is particularly well cast as the sensitive Dov, caught between love and religion and burying his head in literature and study, but Kiran Landa also impresses, bringing ease to a difficult and lonely role.
It is not that Dov and Ali doesn’t stumble at any point, and it is certainly not perfect, there are times, particularly in the middle section, where the constant debates seem to be losing direction, but essentially this fearless piece of theatre pulls no punches. There is a resounding truth that pours out of it in all directions, flowing freely from the writing, the set design, the acting, and the directing, and yet Dov and Ali doesn’t preach. There are no answers offered, there are no morals proffered, but when theatre is this good, it reminds you how essential it is.
The article in its original context on the Whatsonstage Website
By Lyn Gardner
Posted: Jun 19 2008
In an American tradition of plays such as Oleanna and Spinning into Butter, Anna Ziegler's four-hander is an intense, intelligent and hugely promising play that plays out clashes of belief systems in the classroom. Here, a Jewish teacher, Dov, is teaching Lord of the Flies to a class of 17-year-olds that includes a precocious but dogmatic Muslim, Ali, who finds it difficult to accept that there can be more than one answer to a question. As William Golding's novel throws up issues of rules, responsibilities and the nature of self, it becomes the battleground for the conflict between the liberal Dov, who is certain of nothing, and Ali, who believes it is not being happy but being right that matters.
This may sound rather dry, and indeed there is a cerebral element to this play, which sometimes feels as though it has been mapped out too carefully. This is particularly true of the character of Dov's non-Jewish girlfriend, who believes that loving another human is better than loving God. But Ziegler tempers this tendency through the use of a narrator figure: Sameh, Ali's absent sister, whose fate provides the backbone of the narrative.
There is plenty to chew on, and first-time director Alex Sims makes the most of it in a superbly acted production of considerable delicacy. The play's conflict between head and heart is mirrored in the way the production balances the intellectual thrust of the drama against its emotional undertow. James Floyd is impressive as the unlikable Ali, who has to learn to be human the hard way. And there is equally good work from Ben Turner as Dov, a man who denies the best part of himself.
The article in its original context on The Guardian Website
By Alistair Smith
Posted: Jun 13 2008
The Arab Israeli conflict is ripe for drama and, in Dov and Ali, American Jewish writer Anna Ziegler mines the subject with real flair.
Rather than addressing the physical battles taking place in the Middle East, Ziegler focuses on a US school and a very personal skirmish between a young Jewish teacher and one of his Muslim pupils.
Both are sons of devoted, religious fathers, both apparently confident in the values and outlooks that their respective religions - and fathers - have given them. They bond over a shared interest in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies and develop a distinctly belligerent kind of friendship.
However, underneath their professed confidence, Dov and Ali are both struggling to reconcile their religious beliefs with struggles in their personal lives.
What is most impressive about Ziegler’s writing is how she allows the subtext of the pair’s discussions - superficially about Golding - to reveal more universal problems within each of their philosophies and become emblematic of greater world struggles.
God’s love, it seems Ziegler is telling us, can be a poor substitute for the more earthly kind, and God’s rules cannot always be reconciled with the realities of the world we live in.
James Floyd, as the opinionated and precocious Ali - “Life isn’t about being happy, it’s about being right” - is quite superb, while Ben Turner, as the troubled and torn Jewish professor provides an equally impressive sparring partner.
The production is simply but well staged on a set which doubles as a classroom and Dov’s apartment.
Ziegler’s writing is the highlight, here, though - incisive and admirably succinct. Definitely worth a trip to Battersea.
The article in its original context on The Stage Website
By Emma Catty
Posted: June 2008
Revolving around everyday encounters and their sometimes life changing consequences, Anna Ziegler’s Dov and Ali tackles the issues of religious identity, love and patriarchy as they shape the lives of four people: Dov, Ali, Sonya and Sameh.
Set in Detroit, the play opens with Dov, a Jewish English teacher, and Ali, a fiercely bright Muslim student, offering their differing interpretation of Golding’s Lord of the Flies/ In doing so they reveal a chasm between their views on respect, rules and happiness.
Ziegler resists the urge to allow the play to be drawn into a discussion about topical world issues and instead focuses on the relationship between these two men. As the play unfolds, the audience watch Dov and Ali go through crises triggered by family events. Dov is the son of a Rabbi who starts to question both his faith and his two year relationship with the non-Jewish Sonya after his father decides to retire. Under the scrutiny of his student he finds his resolve and sense of purpose dissolving and as a result he takes some surprising decisions. Ali too is forced to reconsider the rules he lives his life by when events involving his sister Sameh and his father take a distressing turn. Beginning the play with a strict sense of filial respect and obligation, the young Muslim finds himself questioning his early assertion that “life isn’t about being happy, it’s about being right.”
The story develops over a series of conversations between Dov and Ali, Dov and Sonya and occasionally, Ali and Sameh. Alternating swiftly between scenes inside and outside the classroom, the plot is clearly signposted thanks to a narration by Sameh. Dressed head to toe in black with her hair covered by a hijab, Sameh has an otherworldly presence that becomes more significant as the play progresses.
Zeigler’s writing is, in places, beautiful and her characters are extremely well drawn. The writing is complimented by strong performances from Ben Turner, as Dov, and James Floyd, as Ali. Kiran Landa is equally impressive as the idealistic Sameh; both her and Orla Fitzgerald, as the belligerent Sonya, leave a lasting impression. The intense, intimate production works well in a venue such as Theatre 503 and Morgan Large’s design and David Holmes’ light creations help move events convincingly between the small spaces of bedroom, study and classroom.
The dialogue is mercifully clear of political preaching or didactic statements though this did leave me wondering what lessons Ziegler is trying to teach us. There are no easy answers to the issues raised by Dov and Ali; Instead, as the stage clears after the final scene, we are left gazing at the large whiteboard by the back wall, its expanse filled with scribbled questions.
The article in its original context on The musicOMH.com Website