Theatre for Palestine: Making Theatre in Conflict Areas

• Date: 27 September
• Time: 17:30 - 18:30
• Location: Theater aan het Spui, Foyer

This conversation serves as a pre-program to the performances DEADLIFT and 681 Days After the Sleep Strike, as part of the contextual programming for the Theater for Palestine weekend.

With Marina Barham from Al Harah Theater (currently touring the Netherlands with the performance DEADLIFT) and Jan Willems from Theater Day Productions. They will speak about the importance of making theater in conflict areas.

For two decades, Jan Willems created theater with young people in Gaza. Marina Barham, director of Al Harah, works tirelessly to help a new generation of children and young people in the West Bank grow up with healthier minds despite the trauma they face every day. Al Harah does this by offering them psychosocial drama classes as well as music and circus sessions.

These sessions provide them with a new, safe space in which they can express their fears, dreams, and perspectives without putting themselves in danger or feeling responsible for confronting the violence of the Israeli occupation. The aim is to create a secure environment where they can express themselves freely through art and education.

By giving them a short period in which they can be “normal” children or young people, they are supported in coping with the oppression they face on their way to school or work. In this way, they can channel their anger through art, and in the long term, learn the importance of justice and respect—both for their own human rights and those of others.

Note: After the performance DEADLIFT, there will also be a post-show discussion in the theater with part of the cast, joined by MEP Tineke Strik and the Palestinian Ambassador.

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