Peacemaking on Stage: OSLO

September 13, 1993 is a date that many of a certain age will recognize as

the day the OSLO ACCORDS were signed. It was marked by a White House Rose

Garden ceremony with President Bill Clinton officiating over a handshake

between Israeli Prime Minister Itzak Rabin and Yasser Arafat of the

Palestinian Liberation Organization. Papers were signed by both warring

parties to set up a framework for peace between the two adversaries. Back

then, and still today, the OSLO ACCORDS represent at least a hopeful

moment for peace.

Although the Oslo Accords didn’t result in a lasting peace between Israel

and Palestine, how they came to be at all makes for a fascinating study in

the hope for change, the persistence and bravery of negotiators on both

sides of a conflict, and, in this case, the dogged determination of two

Norwegian peacemakers who drove the whole process.

A stage dramatization of the story of OSLO was written by J.T. Rogers and

directed by Bartlett Sher. It started modestly in 2016 at a small theater

at New York’s Lincoln Center. Later it advanced to the Lincoln Center’s

Broadway stage, and went on to win the award for BEST PLAY at 2017’s Tony

Awards.

Today on Peace Talks Radio, host Paul Ingles talks with both OSLO

playwright JT Rogers and director Bartlett Sher about the peacemaking

lessons on display in the acclaimed play.