Oslo-The Play at the Vivian Baumont Lincoln Center Theater

It's hard to believe that two hours and forty-five minutes could go by so quickly.  But it did. With less than two dozen characters and very little action, the play tells the true story of the Oslo Peace

accords which began first in secret and which ultimately led to the September 13, 1993, signing  by Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestine Liberation Organization Negotiator Mahmoud Abbas of a Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements.  This document became known as the 'Oslo Accord'.  In it Israel accepted the PLO as the representative of the Palestinians, and the PLO renounced terrorism and recognized Israel’s right to exist in peace. Both sides agreed that a Palestinian Authority (PA) would be established and assume governing responsibilities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip over a five-year period. Then, permanent status talks on the issues of borders, refugees, and Jerusalem would be held. While President Bill Clinton’s administration played a limited role in bringing the Oslo Accord into being, it would invest vast amounts of time and resources in order to help Israel and the Palestinians implement the agreement. By the time Clinton left office, however, the peace process had run aground, and a new round of Israeli-Palestinian violence had begun.  The play speaks not of the long term success of the Oslo Accord but of the ability of people to come together and at least try to create peace.