SOURCE: “Hare's Breadth,” in New Statesman, September 18, 1998, pp. 38-9.

In the following review, Kellaway offers an affirmative evaluation of Via Dolorosa.

When David Hare walked on stage on the first night of Via Dolorosa, his nerves were apparent, his voice putting a false emphasis on words. He is not an actor and this made him seem more exposed. He was like someone hanging on hard to roots on a slippery hill, determined not to fall. His gestures were asking for help. But Hare has been expertly directed by Stephen Daldry, and his fear eased as his story got underway. His own emotion and lack of actorly gloss added to the integrity, the extraordinary atmosphere of Via Dolorosa.

It is a piece about which Hare has every reason to be nervous. He has bravely elected to share his thoughts on the apparently insoluble conflicts in the Middle East and...