Democratic Palestine : 37 (ص 30)
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- Democratic Palestine : 37 (ص 30)
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rather limited, except for the few who
had lived abroad and had the chance
of becoming informed about the
development of theater in other coun-
tries...
On the other hand, the occupation
undermined a whole series of artistic
and cultural experiments, including the
theater, during the eighties. Under
occupation and the increasing process
of capitalization in the occupied ter-
ritories, more and more citizens were
burdened with concerns about the dif-
ficulties of everyday life and making a
living. This led to members of the
theatrical troupes being preoccupied
with their daily problems. Con-
sequently, the surplus time and energy
that could have been invested in cul-
tural life contracted.
At the beginning, most of the par-
ticipants in theater activities were stu-
dents or new graduates who were
severely affected by the economic and
social conditions. As they got more
involved in family life with all its
requirements, many of them gave up
the theater and some even left the
country; the absence of _profes-
sionalism also contributed to this.
Waves of theater activists succeeded
One another, as students and new
graduates came and went. While the
initial activists came at the time of the
revolutionary tide, later ones came at a
time when the phenomenon of
bureaucratic deviation had set in, in
the early eighties.
Then the theater faced the problem
of the audience who began to avoic
the theater and concentrate on their
own lives. People were exhausted by
the search for work and subsistence in
the day, and were watching television
in the evening. As a way out of this
impasse, a number of theater artists
decided to address youth and school
children, attempting to form a mass
base with the perspective that real
Palestinian theater must be promoted
by the rising generation. Theater
groups concentrated their attention on
children’s theater and the schools.
Over the last ten years, there have
been 54 full theatrical performances
shown to children.
28
These shows were essentially based
on legends and often overloaded with
social and political content. Now, with
Palestinian children having acquired a
greater life experience and deeper
dimension of thought, we hesitate a lot
when choosing the story for a chil-
dren’s play. The children have started
demanding more; they are asking for
something beyond the legend and the
social themes; they insist on getting
revolutionary plays which deal with the
real situation of occupied Palestine,
and correspond to the revolutionary
tide that has penetrated their very
beings.
Meanwhile, other plays continue to
depict the repression practiced by the
enemy against the cultural movement
in the occupied territories. The theater
has played a significant role in
revolutionizing the Palestinian masses.
The plays which took the lead are
those which called for shaking off
Slumber and giving up waiting for the
unknown savior who might never
come. One such play, «Waiting for
Faraj» (faraj means relief), was pre-
sented by the popular group Sanabel.
It reviewed the situation of the Pales-
tinian people at that time, calling on
everyone to rise and take action.
The play, «Who is the Barren
Woman?», identified surrender with
death, since capitulation means steril-
ity... Birth never comes unless there is
revolution and liberation.
«Caligola», by the Artistic Theater
Workshop, clearly speaks out against
the fear of confrontation, since fear
mever protects against death; life is
based on challenging injustice and
overthrowing the oppressor.
«Two Aliens», by the troupe of
Theatrical Arts, is a condemnation of
emigration from the homeland.
«Kafar Shamma», presented by the
Hakawati Theater, deals with the
tragedy of the Palestinian people who
are scattered all over the world
because of the first disaster (1948).
«The Ignitors», presented by the
Artistic Theater Workshop, was an
open letter to the ruling Arab
bourgeoisie, warming them of-~ the
inevitable fire which will certainly con-
sume them if the status quo persists.
Some may imagine that things were
going smoothly in a _ comfortable
atmosphere of cultural and intellectual
liberty, where Palestinian artists
enjoyed freedom to create and per-
form. The reality was, however, com-
pletely different. The occupation
authorities went on persecuting Palesti-
nian artists. In addition to the notori-
ous British Emergency Regulations of
1945, the Zionist authorities have
issued a whole series of arbitrary
decrees depriving Palestinians of the
freedom of cultural creation and
expression. Many creative workers are
under house arrest; others are in
prison. Cultural centers and _ institu-
tions have been closed. Many perfor-
mances have been stopped, and the
performers arrested. All performances
were prohibited in the West Bank and
Gaza Strip. They can only be held in
Jerusalem where there is relative cul-
tural freedom due to the Israelis’
imposition of rule ‘there
immediately after the occupation. Yet
even the special status of Jerusalem
did not prevent the occupation
authorities from closing down the sole
civil
Palestinian cultural center in the city
34 times since it was established in
1983. There have been repeated raids
during artistic performances. The
center has even been attacked by sol-
diers using plastic bullets and tear gas,
injuring several performers.
The shackles tmposed by the enemy
on Palestinian national cultural expres-
sion are too many to be listed here.
Inversely, they constitute sufficient evi-
dence of the depth of this cultural
expression and its vigorous influence
on the course of political life. Palesti-
nian culture stresses the identity of the
Palestinian people and their adherence
to national unity and their leadership,
the PLO. Our commitment has gone
beyond the political framework to
become an expression of our very
identity, and an authentic synonym for
Palestine...
We have no other weapons than
stones. Also our theater possesses only
the most basic artistic instruments,
similar to stones. @
Democratic Palestine, February 1990 - هو جزء من
- Democratic Palestine : 37
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