LASTING HATREDS
Two Jews are found on a deserted island, goes the old joke, by a passing ocean liner. The men who come to shore to rescue the two Jews see three structures on the island. When asked, one of the Jews explains, “Well, the first is my synagogue, the second is his synagogue and neither of us goes to the third one.”
In “The Last Two Jews of Kabul,” Josh Greenfeld dramatizes the war of wills between Zebulon Simantov and Isaak Levi, who are found after American and Northern Alliance troops remove the Taliban from power in Afghanistan. With only one structure to claim as their own, the last two Afghan Jews bitterly reside at separate ends of the synagogue, from where they trade barbs at each other.
Directed by George Ferencz, “The Last Two Jews of Kabul” attempts to answer why these two Jews decided to stay in Afghanistan under Taliban rule. And by delving into what makes them tick, the drama takes the audience into the minds of two Jews surviving in a deserted island of world Jewry.
La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, 74A E. 4th St., Feb. 27-March 16, Thurs.-Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 2:30 p.m., 8 p.m.; $15 (212-475-7710, www.lamama.org)
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