COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Abbey Theater of Dublin is set to bring a classic Lee Blessing play to central Ohio for the first time.
Written during the height of the Cold War, "A Walk in the Woods" tells the tale of opposing negotiators attempting to overcome their differences and make a more human connection.
"'A Walk in the Woods' is an exploration of the relationship between a Soviet and an American negotiator during the height of the Cold War," explained co-director Scott Douglas Wilson. "They take their arms negotiation out into the woods to have more of a human connection and, throughout that, we see this huge geopolitical issue boiled down really to the clash of personalities."
When the story starts, the veteran Soviet negotiator takes the novice American negotiator on a walk through the woods to try to determine what type of person the younger man is.
He attempts to start a friendship with the American, who seemingly is only interested in the serious business of nuclear nonproliferation. While the plot could easily reflect the geopolitical concerns of today, according to Wilson, the relevance of the narrative is the human story at the heart of the nearly 40-year-old play.
"Boiling these giant problems down to just the human need to connect and build bridges is what really keeps it relevant I think in today's super-heated climate," Wilson said.
"It's a very interesting thing to be producing right now," said Joe Bishara, theater supervisor of the Abbey Theater as well as the actor taking on the American character "John Honeyman" for this play. "You can look at it as, you know, international relations - you can look at it from an arms negotiation point of view - but, people can be pretty stuck in their own unique view of things but...it takes a unique person over an extended period of sessions to really have people understand that, at our core, we're really not that different."
The central Ohio premiere of "A Walk in the Woods" runs May 17-19 at The Abbey Theater of Dublin. For showtimes and ticket information, visit: https://dublinohiousa.gov/abbey-theater/upcoming-shows/.