"Storytelling Is Resistance" – Ala’a Al Qaisi on her play The Return

On Episode 75 of Bogan Intelligentsia, Australian-Palestinian writer, director and filmmaker Ala’a Al Qaisi joins us for a deep and moving conversation on storytelling as memory, resistance and healing. Drawing on her upbringing with her grandmother’s stories of a Palestine she has never seen, Ala’a examines diaspora identity and the homeland, the shift from screen to theatre as soft power, the genesis of a work born from one family’s grief, the creation of a “second reality through imagination,” the responsibility of embodying real loss on stage, art that humanises against dehumanising narratives, and healing as a communal and spiritual act. Under the theme Storytelling as Resistance: Memory, Healing and the Return, Ala’a reflects on the roots of her practice, the essence she most wants audiences to carry, and what it means to refuse erasure through the power of story. Podcast Details: : 75 min | Released 27 August 2026 | Ala’a Al Qaisi – Australian-Palestinian writer, director & filmmakerSupport the Launch:Subscribe for free on Substack at www.boganintel.com to get episodes and show notes, or go paid ($5/month). Listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Watch the video version on our YouTube channel. Subscribe for updates. Back us on Patreon starting at $3/month. Share this episode on X (@Boganintelpod) or with your network to amplify our reach. #AlaaAlQaisi #TheReturn #StorytellingAsResistance #Diaspora #SoftPower #PalestinianArt #MemoryAndHealing #BoganIntelligentsia #IndependentJournalism #FirstNations