When Phelim McAleer, Ann McElhinney and Geoffrey Cantor set out to produce a play depicting Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre, they knew it would create waves. But they never expected a historically accurate production to require heavy security and actors to fear for their careers.

Nevertheless, the three pushed forward with their mission and boarded a plane to the Jewish state, determined to document survivors’ stories. What they discovered and recreated in their play is a story of hope and resilience—the story of the State of Israel.