“The Return” Investigates Repression & War—at Golden Thread
Nick Musleh & Elissa Beth Stebbins. Photos: David Allen Studio
Eady & Mast Propose Treatment for Israeli/Palestinian Tribalism
by Lynne Stevens
“We Repair Army Jeeps,” claims the sign outside a modest garage in a small Israeli town. But inside bigger questions roll out. Do they repair injured hearts, too?
Inside, we meet Him (cautious Nick Musleh) and Her (probing Elissa Beth Stebbins). They are not unlike lovers anywhere who become victims of forbidden love. Like Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet,” “The Return” asks tragic questions wrapped in an odd love story.
Playwrights Hanna Eady and Edward Mast help us understand the complex, hopeless puzzle that Palestinians who live in Israel face. It’s hell for Palestinians and a curse for Israelis, fixing our attention on the couple struggling under dehumanizing oppression.
In a world where new things become illegal every day, Palestinians conceal their identities, fearing they will never have peace—always on guard, mistrusting their own neighbors. The news provides daily proof that the Palestinians were massacred and uprooted in 1948. The founding of Israel displaced many thousands of Palestinians from cities, towns, and villages.
Nick Musleh and Elissa Beth Stebbins
On the long stage, with each actor positioned at opposite ends, they face each other. We are watching a tennis match, as she volleys questions at him. We must turn our heads to hear his response.
Two characters, with almost no props, talk to each other—an intimate challenge for actors. Musleh and Stebbins meet the moment, letting us eavesdrop on the tense conversation, and it’s so engrossing.
“The Return,” just 70 minutes of slow, uncoiling tension, reveals a lot of history in this short time. Stebbins embodies Her with a handwringing, anxious manner. She is so eager to make amends for the past that we wish she would just stop. There is something about her we don’t trust.
Nick Musleh and Elissa Beth Stebbins
She fishes around to see if he remembers her. Has he been treated fairly? Is he getting credit for the work he does? Is he paid the same as the other mechanics? Maybe her persistence in helping is only making things worse.
Musleh portrays Him as a perfect gentleman—polite, restrained, and wary. The way he wipes his greasy hands on a red rag makes us feel as though he is trying to wipe away their past. Like Winston in 1984, he seems programmed to say only what has been dictated by Big Brother. He’s mild-mannered but wound tight as a spring.
We never learn precisely what took place between Him and Her, only that it is prohibited because of who they are—an Israeli and a Palestinian.
The authors seem to be straining for a happy ending, yet with the reality of the political situation and the way the actors tentatively approach each other, it seems unlikely. As the couple reaches a fragile reconciliation, lights and sirens announce the Israeli authorities, reminding us that no good can come from constant surveillance and disrespect for human connections.
See “The Return” to understand how Tribalism lies at the root of this war. This two-hander lets us appreciate how person-to-person communication can brew an antidote to hatred.
“The Return” by Hanna Eady & Edward Mast, directed by Hanna Eady, scenic & lighting design by Kate Boyd, costumes by Michelle Mulholland, sound by James Ard, by Golden Thread Productions with Art2Action, Inc., at The Garret/ACT, San Francisco.
Info: goldenthread.org – to August 24, 2025.
Cast: Nick Musleh and Elissa Beth Stebbins.