As the theater lights dim, a voice bellows out to the audience, “We have been taught in life to believe that there is light at the end of the tunnel. But if you see any light at the end of this tunnel, pull the trigger.”

This is the opening line of “In the Tunnel,” an insightful satire about the Arab-Israeli conflict whose impact has become even stronger since the surge in violence in the Gaza Strip since the end of March. Directed by Irad Rubenstein, this political play by Tel Aviv’s Gesher Theater has performed to a full house for over a year. The play is scheduled to travel abroad, mainly to the United States, later this year.

"I hope we irritate everyone, left and right," Rubenstein said. "Because then it will force the audience to really think about what we are doing in this conflict, and especially in Gaza."

The reference to the tunnel is both literal and figurative. The play, written by Roee Chen, takes place in a tunnel, representing a Hamas tunnel dug under the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip in order to enable its militants to penetrate into Israel. These tunnels have become a focal point in the violence between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. As a deliberate unsubtle metaphor, the tunnel offers an in-your-face, frightening, depressing and comical view of the absurdity of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The jokes are rapid and often macabre.