Playing to a full house, Jonathon Epstein's performance of Via Dolorosa Friday night in Spingold's Laurie Center delivered an artistically conversational adaptation of David Hare's tense play, in which the only character is a dramatized version of the author himself. At the beginning of the Brandeis Theater Company-sponsored show, "David Hare" explains that he made a visit to Israel in 1997-the 50th birthday of both the country and playwright-in order to write a play about where "at least they're fighting for something they believe in," as opposed to his dispassionate home in England. His description of the "Via Dolorosa," Latin for "way of grief," as well as the street in Jerusalem that Jesus supposedly followed toward his crucifixion, gives the play a sense of loss as an underlying theme to Hare's 90-minute discussion on the Arab-Israeli conflict.

The show fit well with the intimate Laurie Theater, where the stationary set consisted of the brown-toned wood and leather appropriate to a posh British study. It is difficult to hold an audience's attention during a one-character play without visible changes of setting besides some tonal light changes. However, Via Dolorosa used vivid imagery to advance the plot and environment through the memories of Hare's visits to Israel.

Rather than delivering a scripted lecture on his observations about the country, Epstein informally addressed the audience as his house guests. His precise, convincing performance as the British playwright-which he credited to his experience living in London-made every fidget in his suit, every shift from desk to chair and every casual drink poured seem as deliberate attempts at making use of his stage environment, while subtle enough to be naturally unnoticeable.

While the play featured elements of the increasingly popular documentary drama, it delved deeper than surface reporting by discussing theoretical ideas. Hare discusses the idea of "owning" land as a new idea-an "un-Jewish" one at that, because while Hare was raised Christian, he was taught that the Jewish community saw life as more precious than land. He even goes so far as to say that "God promised land, but didn't necessarily promise it would be Tel Aviv or Haifa."

After discussing life in Israel, the monologue transitioned into Hare's experience across the Gaza Strip, a trip which he describes as "walking through the mirror" and as if he were "driving from California to Bangladesh" where the "lush" becomes "dust." As the play continued, Via Dolorosa presented many perspectives on the conflicts in Israel; amid the play's "equal" representation, Hare includes comments that could offend all three major religions in the region. With that in mind, it was no wonder that Epstein's emphasis on buzzwords like "Palestine," and his questioning of the accuracy of Bible stories, kept the audience emotionally jumpy.

Hare discusses the surprisingly sparse Christian impact in Jerusalem as he walks down the Via Dolorosa to the biblical rock removed at Jesus' resurrection. As Hare kneels to kiss the figurative stone, Epstein began Hare's theoretical dialogue; "Does literal truth matter? Aren't we kissing an idea? Stones or ideas?"

In a discussion after the show, an audience member asked Epstein about common reactions to his performance, to which he said, "It takes a brave audience. Some nights there is a sense of relief and some nights a sense of grief . but on good nights by the end of the show, [Hare] is more humble, less certain that there is a solution, besides the passage of time."

Epstein emphasized that the play had "no gratuitous artistry," in order to educate instead of pushing more biased opinions on the subject. Epstein explained that he pulled back on performing emotionally, so as not to make his acting more important than the content of the play.

This production of Via Dolorosa is currently running through Oct. 21 with the Berkshire Theater Festival in Stockbridge, Mass.