But as soon as Richard Keen, a defense lawyer with a talent for provocation, took over in mid-afternoon, Mr. Talb lost his temper.
But as I looked up from time to time, it struck me that among other things, amid all of the sustained touching, billing and cooing, there was willful, if mild, provocation taking place before my eyes.
But Israeli officials said that the situation has moved well beyond the original provocation to take on a life of its own.
David Eldridge, who keeps the must-read blog One Writer and his Dog, was remarkably restrained in his reaction: "One could argue all day with this provocation and take issue with it easily on the grounds of a debate about personal and institutional taste, the grounds of theatre culture politics and in defence of playwrights under commission too and in the life of the NT.
Victoria Nuland, a department spokeswoman, said settlement activity only put the goal of peace "further at risk" and urged both Israel and the Palestinians to halt all provocations and take steps to revive long-stalled peace talks.
But it added that there would be no issue with "people who adhere to non-traditional sexual orientation but do not engage in these activities, nor stage any provocations, and take part peacefully in Olympic events together with everyone else".
South Korea's foreign ministry told Reuters it is aware of the North Korean statement on the new sanctions, again highlighting its position that they are a "grave warning by the international community that the region has no option but to immediately cease reckless provocations, and take the path of dialogue for denuclearization and peace".
But later in the half, with seemingly no provocation, he took off his helmet and walked off the field.
His refusal to rise to the provocation is taken as evidence of his being "fake" and of "playing a game".
Vatican Shadow Dominick Fernow's War On Terror-themed techno project is an exercise in provocation – he takes to the stage in Gulf War combat uniform – but his music swings skilfully between sinister ambience and brutal propulsion.
