Fire Alarm Disrupts Play on Hamas Attacks at Northwestern University

A performance of the play "OCTOBER 7," which features testimonies from individuals affected by the 2023 Hamas attacks in Israel, was disrupted by a fire alarm at Northwestern University on Tuesday evening. The incident caused the evacuation of Cahn Auditorium.

Ann McElhinney, co-writer of the play with her husband Phelim McAleer, told Fox News Digital that many audience members initially mistook the alarm for a part of the show, as the preceding dialogue had referenced sirens and alarms.

"Initially, they thought it was part of the play because they heard these sirens going off, and the dialogue prior to that had been about sirens going off, rockets going off, the red alarm going off," McElhinney said. "They were like 'Oh, this is part of the play,' until they realized it wasn't."

After the building was cleared by authorities, some attendees left, which McElhinney attributed to fear, while others remained, feeling "defiant."

McAleer stated that the performance concluded with a standing ovation, which he saw as a tribute to the cast and crew, as well as a show of defiance against attempts to intimidate the audience. "The standing ovation was for the actors, the standing ovation was for the director, the standing ovation was for the stories. But it's also, I think people were giving themselves a standing ovation that someone had tried to intimidate them, that someone had tried to say to them, 'You're not going to tell the truth. We don't want to hear the truth, we want to shut you up, we want to shut down, we want to frighten you and intimidate you.' And they didn't succeed," McAleer said.

Northwestern Media Relations confirmed the fire alarm activated around 8:12 p.m., leading to an evacuation. The building was later deemed safe, and the event resumed, concluding at 9:45 p.m. The university police are investigating the incident.

McAleer and McElhinney believe the alarm was deliberately activated by someone who attended the performance. "This was someone, we believe, someone sat through the play and then came out at the most emotional time," McAleer said. He described the act as "insidious," "sneaky," "cowardly," and "nasty," noting that it occurred on Oct. 6, which was already Oct. 7 in Israel.

The play, "OCTOBER 7," compiles testimonies gathered by the couple in Israel shortly after the Hamas attacks. McElhinney explained their motivation was to ensure the stories were told, as they observed a lack of focus on the attacks themselves in initial media and academic discussions.

"We realized that if we didn't go and tell the story and do this work that, you know, it looks very much like nobody else was going to do that," McElhinney said. McAleer added that journalistic coverage at the time focused on the Gaza conflict rather than the initial attacks.

The couple interviewed approximately 20 individuals, with 15 testimonies included in the play. "OCTOBER 7" has also been performed at other venues, including New York City, Princeton, UCLA, Bowdoin College, and the Kennedy Center. McElhinney noted that the New York run required daily NYPD protection, which she found indicative of the challenges facing free speech.

McAleer commented on the perceived atmosphere on American college campuses, stating, "American campuses are deeply strange, dangerous places at the moment for a Jewish person." He added, "You mean, you can't mourn your dead. You can't mark your anniversaries. You can't walk the campus without fear of being attacked or having your event disrupted."

"You know you can have an event without massive and expensive security," McAleer said. "What does that say about the campus idea of freedom and free speech and free thought? Free thought is dead on American campus[es]. Free speech seems to be dead on the American campuses."

The couple plans to file a police report regarding the fire alarm incident. "We hope that whoever did this feels a full force of the law because this cannot be allowed to stand," McAleer stated.