A new play tells the harrowing story of the October 7 terrorist attacks on Israel through verbatim accounts from survivors, with an effort to keep that horrific day front and center.
Irish journalists Phelim McAleer and Ann McElhinney traveled to Israel immediately after the attacks to speak to the wounded, heroic rescuers, mothers wondering if their family had survived, and a police officer who killed several Hamas terrorists. Their firsthand accounts became “OCTOBER 7,” a limited-run play that opens Monday in New York City.
“We watched people describe the worst day of their lives, and their resilience, strength, courage and hope is what takes away in the end,” McElhinney told Fox News Digital.
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A new work tells the traumatic story of the October 7 terrorist attacks on Israel through the verbatim accounts of survivors. (Aaron J. Houston)
McAleer and McElhinney noted the day after the Hamas terrorist attack that people around the world were calling for Israel to withdraw, a sign that the brutal invasion would be quickly forgotten.
“There would be no October 8, there would be no war in Gaza without October 7. We wanted people to realize and not forget what happened,” McAleer said.
McAleer and McElhinney then spent three weeks traveling around Israel, speaking to people who were affected by the attacks. They found the 13 most convincing witnesses and turned their words into a play.
“We've done word-for-word theater before, and it's a unique vehicle to tell a story in a very compelling way for the audience,” McElhinney said, noting that the play is 100% the words of the witnesses they spoke to.
McElhinney noted that the timing of the play's premiere coincides with anti-Israel protests sweeping college campuses across the United States.
“Even though we are trying to bury October 7, the history of Israel is not going to go away, the war is not going to go away. The controversy is not going to go away,” McAleer said.
“But it's a one-sided controversy. Everyone is talking about Palestine and Gaza, but no one is talking about Israel on October 7,” he continued, while McElhinney added: “No one is talking about the hostages.”
“There are American hostages,” he said.
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McAleer and McElhinney believe anti-Israel protesters could learn a valuable lesson from the play.
“Anyone who leaves the construction site is affected. People were crying,” McAleer said. “It makes them more resilient.”
McAleer and McElhinney hope that “October 7” will show leaders in other areas of entertainment and the arts that it's okay to speak up for Israel. They're upset that Hollywood hasn't taken a stronger stance, but the music industry's silence really irritates them.
“They attacked a music festival… the music industry has been shamefully silent about this,” McAleer told Fox News Digital.
“They have been shamefully pro-Hamas, the group that attacked partygoers, music lovers, peace lovers,” he continued, before correcting himself. “They were not attacked, they were persecuted and massacred. Massacred because they were Jews.”
McElhinney said, “There is a long history of people changing their minds on issues based on powerful works of art” and feels the work could be pivotal for college protesters to experience.
“OCTOBER 7” runs at the historic Actors Temple Theater in New York City through June 16. (Aaron J. Houston)
They hope the play will eventually come to Broadway and local companies will perform it across the country. In the meantime, they're putting those words into action, with plans to take the play on tour to Ivy League universities in the fall, starting with Harvard, Princeton, Yale, MIT, Columbia and Penn, where anti-Semitism has been rampant.
McAleer and McElhinney, whose Unreported Story Society relies on donations as a 501(c)(3), are hopeful that anti-Israel agitators will stay away from the historic Actors Temple Theatre, where the play runs through June 16, but not They are without taking any risk.
“It's the only play in New York that opens under police protection, which is terrible in 2024… but it shows how important these stories are,” McAleer said, noting that security was a big expense for the production.
“There is a lot of anger and a lot of toxicity,” he added. “They are always looking for targets.”
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The creators of “OCTOBER 7” hope the play will show leaders in other areas of entertainment and the arts that it is okay to speak up for Israel. (Aaron J. Houston)
The Unreported Story Society has “a mission to tell the stories ignored by mainstream media through modern art and media,” according to its website.
Attorney and author Mark Paoletta, a board member, said McAleer and McElhinney, along with director Geoffrey Cantor, “have created a tour de force of a work.”
“Compelling, heartbreaking and, at the same time, inspiring. With intense immediacy, the play returns the audience to that horrible day and shows the resilience and humanity of the Israeli people and aims to ensure that the barbaric attack by Hamas is never forgotten” Paoletta said. FoxNewsDigital.
Tickets can be purchased at October7ThePlay.com.
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Fox News Digital's Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.
