In WRESTLING JERUSALEM, San Francisco-based playwright and performer, Aaron Davidman channels twelve characters with distinct perspectives on the Middle East conflict. Davidman performs his solo performance in Providence for one night only: Tuesday, February 17 at 7pm at AS220’s Black Box Theatre, 95 Empire Street.

Aaron Davidman’s new monologue demonstrates the simultaneity of truths around the Middle East conflict. His acclaimed solo show, Wrestling Jerusalem, which opened last April in San Francisco, explores the complexities of the Middle East, translating his own heartbreak, conflicting feelings, hopes, and fears into a dramatic monologue. Davidman created the piece in 2011 when he visited Israel to do research on a play originally intended to be about two American civilians killed in the Middle East: Rachel Corrie and Daniel Pearl. While in Israel though, the piece changed direction, resulting in a monologue in the spirit of Anna Deveare Smith where Davidman plays twelve different characters, each inspired by the people he interviewed in the Middle East.

Brown University’s Department of Theatre Arts and Performance Studies is the sponsor of this one-man show as part of its season of performances and events that focus on performance as a way to communicate complex and challenging ideas. In the fall, the department presented My Name is Rachel Corrie, a solo show from a vastly different point of view. Performances of Wrestling Jerusalem are free and open to the public but reservations are required. A talk back with Davidman and Brown University Professor, Marcus Gardley, follows the show. Visit www.brown.edu/tickets to make a reservation.