Award-nominated Talk

RHONDA SPIVAK

Forty-three-year-old Michael Nathanson, artistic director and general manager of the Winnipeg Jewish Theatre (WJT), was "completely surprised" recently to learn that he was nominated as a finalist for the 2009 Governor General's Literary Award for Talk, the play he wrote that premièred in Winnipeg in 2007.

The provocative, emotionally honest play focuses on the collapse of a friendship between a Jewish man and his non-Jewish friend in the aftermath of Sept. 11, given their opposing viewpoints of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

As a result of the nomination, Nathanson told the Independent, "There are now 10 theatres looking at producing the play. The play will be put on by the Harold Green Jewish Theatre Company in Toronto" from March 3 to 20. Nathanson is pleased that the interest generated "is the upside of the nomination. It confers a legitimacy on the play that it wouldn't have otherwise."

Nathanson's engaging 80-minute work about two buddies, Josh and Gordon, whose friendship goes awry when the word "Palestine" is mentioned, is based on the playwright's own experience. Nathanson was in New York the day two planes plowed into the World Trade Centre. He and his bride, Rebecca Brask, had been married the month before in Manitoba and they wanted to tie the knot again stateside to jump-start her quest for immigration papers that would allow her to live in the United States. Convinced there were more deadly attacks to come, the pair fled New York within a week.

In the aftermath, Nathanson received an e-mail from one of his friends in Italy loaded with anti-American and anti-Israel diatribes.

"I was dumbfounded, given that he knew I was Jewish and what I had just lived through," Nathanson recalled. "When I questioned him, he went insane on me, accusing me of not letting him express his opinion and of being a fascist."

A confused Nathanson began to sort out his own feelings about the event by penning a dialogue about the situation. The thought-provoking and, at times, humorous debate in Talk has been fictionalized, although Nathanson said parts of the script resemble some of his actual conversations.

"Although the play deals with the Middle East conflict, its main focus has to be about the relationship between the guys and how it falls apart. If we don't feel their loss as friends, then the play doesn't resonate as well as it should," Nathanson said.

"It never occurred to me that I would be nominated for the [Governor General's Literary Award]. I didn't know that Playwrights Canada Press put it in for consideration. When my wife phoned to tell me Talk was a GG finalist, I didn't quite believe it.... It was very surreal."

Nathanson added that he initially pitched the play to every Jewish theatre in North America, noting that it proved to be a marketing challenge. He said that one rejection letter stated, "As soon as the conflict in the Middle East is settled, we'll be happy to present this show to our subscribers because it will be less controversial then."

When asked about whether he has contact with his friend in Italy, he said, "We had communication for a while and seemingly worked through our differences. However, when the Winnipeg Free Press published an article about Talk ... he read about it online.... I received an e-mail from him that was very angry [and] I have not heard from him since."

Currently, Nathanson is writing a comedy, One of Ours, which is set for a first reading in May 2010 with WJT producing the world première in April 2011.

"The play has four characters and is set at West Hawk Lake. It's about a Winnipeg Jewish family. There are two brothers, a wife and one of the brothers brings home an unexpected guest. It deals with the issues of family businesses and generational divides."

Nathanson began his career acting on television at age 13. As a playwright, his work has been seen in New York, Dallas and at festivals across Canada.

In Winnipeg, Nathanson has written for Theatre Projects Manitoba, CBC Radio and the University of Winnipeg. In the past few years, he also created and wrote two original, animated, 50-episode Korean Internet-based series.

When asked if he might consider re-running Talk in his home city, in light of his recent nomination, Nathanson responded, "I haven't really given that much consideration. If the play gets enough attention nationwide, it might be something to consider."

Rhonda Spivak is a Winnipeg freelance writer.

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