Theatre Journal, March 1987, by James Fisher (Wabash College)
"May 6, 1986."
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Peter Shaffer's newest play, *Yonadab*, which opened at the 
National Theatre on December 4, 1985, is based on Dan 
Jacobson's popular novel *The Rape of Tamar*, set in 
Jerusalem in 1000 B.C. at the court of King David. The plot 
revolves around the rape of David's daughter, Tamar, by her 
half-brother, Amnon, and the ultimate execution of Amnon by 
his brother, Absalom. But to call this play a biblical drama 
is as inaccurate as suggesting that Shaffer's *Equus* is 
about horses. Shaffer's play combines elements of 
ritualistic tragedy, satirical comedy and probing 
psychological drama. As he stated in a recent article, "the 
final dominant image in my head has not been a bloodthirsty 
but an ambigious one of curtains: a girl, carried through a 
labyrinth of stone streets hidden behind the curtains of her 
litter; the endless curtains of the Middle East, hiding what 
must not be looked on: secret beds and sacred cupboards. And 
above all, the many different kinds of curtain suspended 
before the eyes of my protagonist--Yonadab the Watcher."

Shaffer closely follows Jacobson's novel and reveals the 
intrigues at David's court through a central, omniscient 
character/narrator, similar to Dysart in *Equus* and Salieri 
in *Amadeus*, who raises the curtain theorizing on the 
motives of the play's distant mythical figures. The narrator 
in this case is Yonadab, nephew of David and quintessential 
court toady, a voice from the past endowed with the ability 
to articulate the similarities in the ancient tale of 
intrigue and lust with contemporary events. Yonadab is a 
voyeur deriving his only real pleasure (and power) from 
manipulating the passions and ambitions of his highly placed 
cousins. Using Amnon's frustration and torment over his 
desire to bed his sister, Yonadab tells him of ancient kings 
who loved their sisters and ruled as demi-gods. Amnon is 
made gullible by his excessive hubris and convinces himself 
that his lust for Tamar is a necessary step in achieving 
divinity. But to his horror, the over-sexed Amnon discovers 
in his seduction (observed by the ever-present unseen 
Yonadab) that Tamar is just another in a long line of 
ultimately unfulfilling "one-night stands" and casts her out 
into the street. Tamar flees to Absalom and, once again, 
Yonadab goes to work, this time editing his tale of brother-
sister love to fit Absalom and Tamar. The ambitious Absalom 
is convinced, but this time Tamar will not submit unless 
Absalom avenges her humiliation at the hands of Amnon. In 
defiance of David's protection of Amnon, Absalom and his men 
murder Amnon at a feast.

While the sad tale of Tamar, Amnon and Absalom is compelling 
in itself, Shaffer, with his customary audacity, makes 
Yonadab the tragic center of the play. Condemned through 
life to be a barely comprehending "watcher," Yonadab cannot 
share the fiery passions he both fears and admires in Tamar, 
Amnon and Absalom, although he is able to push them to their 
individual fates. (Absalom later dies when his legendary 
mane of beautiful hair is caught in a tree while he is 
leading a revolution against his father. He is brutally 
murdered there by one of his father's lieutenants. And, in 
his strongest departure from Jacobson's novel, Shaffer's 
Tamar, seemingly the victim of rape and betrayal, emerges as 
a powerful symbol of victory and transcendence to ancient 
women.) As Yonadab himself tells us, he lives a long and 
quite life in the country experiencing only a vague sense of 
envy for the sort of faith that allowed his cousins to 
believe in divinity through passion.

Under Peter Hall's inspired direction, Shaffer's three-hour 
play bristles with intensity as well as savage and ironic 
humor, all expressed superbly by Alan Bates who manages to 
make Yonadab both likeable and appropriately odious. Bates's 
rapidly paced transitions set a tone that is matched ably by 
an excellent ensemble cast including: Leigh Dawson, smarmily 
ape-like as Amnon; Anthony Head, wonderfully smug as the 
preening Absalom; Wendy Morgan, who makes Tamar's transition 
from a childish innocent to an aged prophetess believable; 
Richard Warner aptly comic as Yonadab's self-serving father, 
Shimeah; and Patrick Stewart, flawlessly making David a 
Nixonian politician.

Scene designer John Bury, using Shaffer's curtains as a 
jumping-off point, has created a highly workable set which 
is made up of light curtains angled toward the audience that 
easily rise or move offstasge to form a flowing multitude of 
locations. The addition of some effective props and 
furnishings and stunning lighting (also by Bury) make it 
possible for the action to move effortlessly from scene to 
scene. Dominic Muldowney's original music creates an 
hypnotic mood, particularly during the seduction of Tamar 
and Amnon's murder.

The play is expected in New York next year and one can only 
hope that it is transferred with the incisiveness of the 
London production intact.



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