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Brendan Behan’s The
Hostage at The Western Stage - Contemporary Issues of War and Terrorism
The Western Stage continues its 2007 season with Brendan Behan’s The
Hostage September 7 – 30. Although over forty years old, this tragic-comic
farce about a British soldier held hostage in a rowdy brothel until the British
government releases a soldier of the IRA who is slated to be hung the following
morning still resonates in a world where war and terrorism color every
headline. The Hostage plays in the Studio Theater, Hartnell College
Performing Arts Center. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at
It sounds like
a plot ripped from the front page of today’s New York Times.
A young
British soldier is captured and held hostage until the British government
agrees to release a soldier of the Irish Republican Army who is slated to be
hung the following morning. If his neck touches the noose, so too will the neck
of the young British soldier.
Thus is the
plot of Brendan Behan’s classic tragic-comedy The Hostage, which opens
at The Western Stage September 7th in the Studio Theater,
Like many
plays, the subject matter of this drama was drawn from the playwrights own
experience. Originally written in Irish
Gaelic under the title of An Gial, Brendan Behan drew on his own
experience as a soldier for the IRA who was twice sentenced to prison for
attempted acts of terrorism.
Yet, Drawing
on an eclectic mix of theatrical styles from vaudevillian slap-stick to
rollicking song and dance, Behan creates a tragic-comic farce that tackles the
still burningly relevant issues of terrorism, warfare, and colonialism in this
play that many consider the capstone to his tragically short and turbulent
career.
Instead of
treating the subject matter of the play in a solemn and serious vein, Behan
takes a lighter route, setting the play in a rowdy brothel full of colorful
characters and fiercely biting repartee. In some respects, Behan could be
considered the Quenton Tarantino or Martin McDonough of his time.
Despite his success as a playwright, however,
Behan still struggled with his own personal demons throughout his short life. A
notorious alcoholic whose drunken antics included showing up for his own plays
and jumping up on stage with the actors during performance, Behan’s wild ways
led to an early death in his early-forties. (For more on Behan, see supplemental article.)
The Hostage
plays through September 30th in the Studio Theater, Hartnell College
Performing Arts Center. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at