Find out how critics have been reacting to Yousef Sweid and Isabella Sedlak‘s play, running at the theatre until the 9th May.
The Guardian: *** “The show takes some time to arrive at its nub: the pressure someone like Sweid feels to take a stance, especially after the Hamas attack of 7 October 2023 and the Israeli bombardment of Gaza that followed. It stays blithe for perhaps too long but gathers force as it becomes more serious.”
London Theatre.co.uk: **** “The show celebrates a tolerance and sweetness that seem to belong to an alien land. Or perhaps, for a brief period, we are reminded that the theatre is one of the few realms where such ways of being and thinking haven’t yet gone sour.”
WhatsOnStage: **** “Sweid is an extraordinarily engaging presence. He flirts with the audience, turning emotions this way and that, never losing the thread of the complexity of the ideas he wants to convey. His final plea for a utopian tolerance feels like a forlorn hope. But it also feels like a hope worth asserting, a demand for understanding on all sides.”
London Unattached: “It is certainly political as theatre should be, but it also teaches us about the need to retain our humanity when inhumane actions are being perpetrated left, right and centre. In a sense, the play feels naïve – it ends with Sweig reading an essay his son wrote at school about a utopian description of the future of the Middle East. Yet, what I felt for a brief and fleeting hour was a sense of hope.”
The Arts Desk: *** “Autobiographical show about the Middle East prefers utopian longing to political engagement.”
A Young(ish) Perspective: *** “Nonetheless this is a performance full of heart and Sweid seems like the perfect person to deliver his message of radical empathy, acceptance and peace. He is charming and easy to watch, offering an optimistic view of the future through the eyes of his Jewish children, living such protected lives in Berlin they can’t remember the word for antisemitism.”
Plays To See: *** 1/2 “Sedlak’s direction keeps the piece moving at a steady pace, making effective use of the microphone to signal shifts in character and time. Simply dressed in beige shirt and trousers, Sweid brings the evening to a gentle but resonant close, reading a story written by his son that imagines a utopian Middle East—an appeal for unity, understanding, and the possibility of resolution.”
All That Dazzles: *** “Between The River And The Sea is a piece with genuine moments of poignancy, buoyed by a magnetic central performance and some inventive theatrical choices. When Sweid connects the personal to the political, particularly in those closing passages, the piece achieves something quietly powerful. Yet it never quite sustains this which, when combined with a reluctance to fully engage with the harsher realities of the conflict it addresses, prevents it from reaching the heights its most affecting moments promise. The intent is strong, and the performer charismatic, but the piece itself has not quite found the shape to match its ambition.”
The Standard: *** “The confrontational title deflects into warm, fuzzy anecdotage about how life could be better if we all just go along. It’s banal, yes: but the ongoing alternative is worse.”
Adventures in Theatreland: *** “Between the River and the Sea may not be the most rebellious or adversely political theatrical production, which some may expect from its premise; but Sweid and Sedlak deliver a touching message of empathy and humanity in a raw, authentic 60 minute tale that still manages to touch and connect with audiences minus its few shortcomings.”
Everything Theatre: **** “It’s a personal piece and Sweid describes his upbringing with flair and humour, traversing as it does, the multitude of identities inherent in location and religion. “We are a completely normal family”, he declares, an “Arab-Palestinian-Jewish-Austrian-Romanian-Christian-Family”.”
Time Out: *** “But it is authentic, and Arab Israelis trying to live normal, boring lives are rarely platformed. It’s hardly a cop out to learn about the lived experience of a man who grew up in Israel and felt he had to call himself Yoni to fit in, but only really interrogated this in later life. Even the details of getting divorced as a member of the Berlin diaspora are fascinating. Between the River and the Sea is a moderate show and a modest one, but it‘s a pleasure to spend time in Sweid’s garrulous company.”
The Stage: *** “Yousef Sweid’s refreshingly open-hearted monologue explores the flexibility of identity and some of the more subtle effects of conflict in the Middle East.”
West End Best Friend: **** “Sweid’s performance is expressive and emotionally open, moving smoothly between humour and seriousness. One minute the audience is laughing, and the next they are sitting and contemplating more serious content, and this works very well.”
The Reviews Hub: **** “Sweid is delightfully informal throughout as he talks about his life in Berlin, struggling to get his young daughter dressed for kindergarten in time to make his appointment with his divorce lawyer, while at the same time talking to his sister in Haifa, where rocket attacks are so commonplace they make jokes about sleepless nights.”
Broadway World: **** “If there’s one aspect that could be better nurtured, it’s Sweid’s tendency to self-police. While he’s honest in the admittance of his flaws, he also endlessly justifies and excuses his actions. He argues against himself often and very well, but it’s rarely with the same force as the other side. Still, the play is remarkable in its achievement. It marries provocation with emotional intelligence, presenting its arguments in a fresh light and therefore instigating a new line of thought in its public. It’s really smart programming by the Court.”
To book tickets visit: https://royalcourttheatre.com/events/between-the-river-and-the-sea/