Palestinian Theatre in the West Bank

Since the 1990s, Palestinian theatrical activities in the West Bank have expanded exponentially. In addition to local productions, Palestinian theatre-makers have presented their work to international audiences on a scale unprecedented in Palestinian history. Author Gabriel Varghese’s Palestinian Theatre in the West Bank explores the histories of the five major theatre companies currently working in the West Bank: Al-Kasaba Theatre, Ashtar Theatre, Al-Harah Theatre, The Freedom Theatre and Al-Rowwad. The book explores how theatre-makers contest Zionist discourse and Israeli state practices in this first major account of Palestinian theatre covering the last three decades. Varghese will discuss his book with theatre scholar Kristin Flade. About the speaker: Gabriel Varghese is a former CBRL postdoctoral fellow whose research engages with anti-/post-/de-colonial theatre, performance and literature, and the questions they raise about social movements, dramaturgies of urban life, and regimes of gender, sexuality and race. He is also a playwright, theatre director, and co-artistic director of Sandpit Arts, an award-winning platform for producing film, music and performance events. He holds a PhD from the University of Exeter. About the discussant: Kristin Flade is a performance scholar and author. The focus of her ethnographic and artistic work lies in the representation of violence, political conflict and the potential of negotiating the struggle for human rights in performance, theatre and the arts. She is the author of The Good Pain?: Applied Theatre and Social Circus in Palestine (2018). Kristin holds a PhD from Freie Universität Berlin. She lives and works in Berlin.