Democratic Palestine : 21 (ص 39)
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- Democratic Palestine : 21 (ص 39)
- المحتوى
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Israeli audience, we have to go to Tel
Aviv or Haifa. During our tours, we
have performed for Israeli audiences,
but not many times.»
Asked about the results when per-
forming for Israelis, Abu Salem
explained, «We may not have had
exceptional results, but at least we
didn’t do any harm. The problem
remains the same. The Israelis that
come to watch our shows are the open-
minded ones, those who have questions
about the make-up of their society. We
probably pushed some of those who are
hesitant to take a more radical position.
We encouraged others to understand
and accept certain facts about our
cause.»
PERFORMING ABROAD
Ironically, Al Hakawati is not
allowed in the Arab countries, except
for Tunisia where they performed once
in 1980. However, Abu Salem con-
firmed that the group will travel to
Egypt very soon, on an unofficial invi-
tation. However, Al Hakawati has
performed in many European cities and
in several international festivals. Abu
Salem discusses the purpose of per-
forming abroad: «We come to Europe
to present certain facts that don’t agree
with our image in Europe. Many in
Europe don’t know what Palestine is;
many know a very little about it
through the media. So the audience has
a distorted image of the Palestinians
because of misinformation cam-
paigns.»
«We also come here to learn more.
We are very isolated. We live under
town arrest. We live in a ghetto. We are
not like others, and our situation back
home is very difficult. To come to
Europe is a chance for us to open up
and be exposed to the outside world.»
«Our audiences in Europe fall into
two categories. First, there are those
who sympathize with the Palestinian
cause: Arabs, Europeans, and a huge
number of progressive Jews who sup-
port our cause or are concerned with
the Arab-Zionist conflict. Second,
there are those who are curious; they
come just because we are from far
away... Today,in Europe,we are look-
ing for a theater audience that is more
objective. Our theater demands an
audience with a minimum level of love
for the theater itself, and taste for its
language, different forms and nature.
Otherwise, the show will be too heavy,
because the audience will not under-
stand the unfamiliar form of telling the
story.»
«Our Palestinian identity is the
essence of our works, but it has to come
second to the character and style of our
theater, in order to build a relation of
respect between the audience and the
Palestinian cause. This relation will
contribute to our development as a
theater group. At the same time, it will
convey our art, and political and
human ideas to the audience. I imagine
that most of our audiences now are:
concerned with the Palestinian cause to
the point that they are unable to look at
our works critically, and thus cannot
give us incentive to change and
develop.»
Abu Salem also discussed the effects
of the fact that the group is always on
the move, travelling: «As a theater
group, we are always living in condi-
tions that are very similar to those of
the Palestinian people, specifically the
refugees... We move from one place to
another. We don’t have a specific place
to stay. Of course, the refugee did not
choose this life. It’s a result of the dif-
ficult historical and political conditions
they were put in. As a theater group, we
don’t choose when to travel, and this is
because we are Palestinians. Some
countries receive us, but many others
refuse us. Many Arab and non-Arab
countries have withdrawn their invita-
tions at the last minute. Just like refu-
gees, we carry Our Suitcases and travel.
Many times, we build a stage... A few
days later we take it apart. We carry
our stage on our backs and leave...
always travelling.»
«I am not sure if travelling is better
for us, but we got used to it. We enjoy it
more, but surely it has negative aspects.
This is still a point of discussion for
us.»
«We did not plan to take Al Nuzha
movie theater as a center for our group
in the beginning. We just needed a
meeting place for the group, to have
rehearsals and store our costumes and
archive. After taking the place and
repairing it, we discovered that it is too
big and expensive for us. A permanent
center ties us down. Personally, I would
rather stay free and travel, not only in
Europe, but everywhere we have an
audience that loves us and waits for our
Visit.»
This poster was drawn by an 11 year old Palestinian-Japanese girl, daughter of the Palestinian artist
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UN PALESTINE DAY - هو جزء من
- Democratic Palestine : 21
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- يناير ١٩٨٧
- المنشئ
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