3 AUGUST 2002, Page 27

Hare as hero

From Mr Roy Rubenstein Sir: Toby Young (Arts, 27 July) does a disservice in his claim that Sir David Hare 'bends over backwards to be even-handed' to both sides of the Middle East conflict in his play Via Dolorosa. The playwright recently explained how the play's goal was, above all else, `to illuminate rather than persuade'. But maybe he was doomed from the start, especially when what most impresses Mr Young is Sir David himself: 'If I saw him standing on the other side of a room at a party, I'd be fairly confident that I'd arrived.'

Roy Rubenstein

Tunbridge Wells, Kent