The National Concert Hall in Dublin is reconsidering a planned staged reading of the play “Oct. 7,” following objections to its inclusion in a fundraising event for Magen David Adom, Israel’s national emergency medical service.
The venue said it is “considering all aspects of this matter” after learning that the fundraiser would include the play, written by Irish writers Phelim McAleer and Ann McElhinney, based on verbatim accounts from survivors of the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
The reading is planned as part of a May 11 event hosted by former Irish justice minister Alan Shatter. The fundraiser was previously canceled and then reinstated after intervention by the venue’s board, according to local reporting.
McElhinney said the production has faced repeated resistance in Ireland. “We had wanted to bring you the great news that the Oct/ 7 play was finally going to Ireland. We had arranged a staged reading at the National Concert Hall, a prestigious venue for such a historic play,” she stated. “But now the NCH says they are ‘reconsidering’ the booking upon hearing it will include the Oct. 7 play, because some are calling it political. This is wrong. The play is verbatim—pure journalism.”
“It consists of Jewish voices about Israel’s darkest day, with no editorializing,” she said.
