Calling all theatre groups - Palestinian Play for Performance
jsb | 16.02.2004 22:27 | Culture | Repression | London
Details of a play for performance regarding the plight of Palestinians living in the Occupied Territories.
This is primarily of interest for those involved in (political) theatre. Below I have included a play I have written, 'Nest of Angels', and some presentation notes to go with it.
The play is based on diary accounts of Palestinians living in the Occupied Territories. However I have transferred the narrative from the Occupied Territories to the city of Liverpool, UK, where I live, showing the action as if it was happening to a contemporary Liverpool population. Only at the end through a dramatic device is the true subject matter made explicit. I chose to use this structure to get round the cultural and media barriers that are in place against Palestinian representation. A play purporting to deal with local people undergoing military siege might provoke the curiosity of a local audience more fully than if reference is given immediately to the Palestinian question. With this in mind the play was written for performance to a non-political audience. The aim is to act as effective propaganda to illustrate the plight of Palestinians, and is thus unapologetic in its 'deceptive' structure.
The fact that the play is set in Liverpool is incidental in itself. What is important is that any potential audience identify themselves as closely as possible to the given situation. With this in mind I want to make the play available to theatre groups, where ever they may be (in the UK or further afield), to wave copyright for the purposes of performance, with free reign given to any interpretation of the material a theatre group may see fit. That is to say, if for example, a group in London were to use the material, they should adapt the play to a London locale, using actors who reflect a London population rather than keeping the locale as Liverpool. They have the artistic freedom to adapt the text as they see fit.
What is more important to me than any 'sacredness of text' is that as many people as possible who are not political may be reached by these means. For that reasons the play is descriptive rather than analytical, save at the end.
The play is quite long, but it would be quite easy for any person of creativity to reduce its length and some pointers to this end are given in the accompanying notes.
I'm attempting to gain interest for a production within the Merseyside area but would like to see other productions being put on elsewhere given the pressing need of Palestinians on a continuing basis.
Don't hesitate to contact me regarding any of the above, or should the technology fail and the play (a Word document) not be available below.
best wishes
jsb
The play is based on diary accounts of Palestinians living in the Occupied Territories. However I have transferred the narrative from the Occupied Territories to the city of Liverpool, UK, where I live, showing the action as if it was happening to a contemporary Liverpool population. Only at the end through a dramatic device is the true subject matter made explicit. I chose to use this structure to get round the cultural and media barriers that are in place against Palestinian representation. A play purporting to deal with local people undergoing military siege might provoke the curiosity of a local audience more fully than if reference is given immediately to the Palestinian question. With this in mind the play was written for performance to a non-political audience. The aim is to act as effective propaganda to illustrate the plight of Palestinians, and is thus unapologetic in its 'deceptive' structure.
The fact that the play is set in Liverpool is incidental in itself. What is important is that any potential audience identify themselves as closely as possible to the given situation. With this in mind I want to make the play available to theatre groups, where ever they may be (in the UK or further afield), to wave copyright for the purposes of performance, with free reign given to any interpretation of the material a theatre group may see fit. That is to say, if for example, a group in London were to use the material, they should adapt the play to a London locale, using actors who reflect a London population rather than keeping the locale as Liverpool. They have the artistic freedom to adapt the text as they see fit.
What is more important to me than any 'sacredness of text' is that as many people as possible who are not political may be reached by these means. For that reasons the play is descriptive rather than analytical, save at the end.
The play is quite long, but it would be quite easy for any person of creativity to reduce its length and some pointers to this end are given in the accompanying notes.
I'm attempting to gain interest for a production within the Merseyside area but would like to see other productions being put on elsewhere given the pressing need of Palestinians on a continuing basis.
Don't hesitate to contact me regarding any of the above, or should the technology fail and the play (a Word document) not be available below.
best wishes
jsb
jsb
e-mail:
nestofangels@merseymail.com