Showing at The Birmingham Rep, The Door, on Friday 5th June at 8pm
Directed by Palestinian theatre director Nabil Al-Raee and British theatre director Zoe Lafferty, developed and devised by the Freedom Theatre actors, a unique ensemble who use culture as a form of resistance and who have grown up during the second Intifada and lived under occupation their whole lives.
May 2002, The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. A group of armed men seek sanctuary in one of the world’s holiest sites as the Israeli army closes in with helicopters, tanks and snipers. Along with the fighters are some 200 priests, nuns and civilians. The siege lasts for 39 days, paralyzing the center of Bethlehem and keeping tens of thousands under curfew. While the world is watching, the fighters are faced with the question of whether to struggle to the end or to surrender. No matter what they choose, they will have to leave their families and their homeland behind forever.
Based on the collected and untold accounts of the fighters who are now exiled across Europe the story tells of an event that over time has taken on almost mythical proportions.
Tickets for the performance cost £9.60 (Group concessionary price) to book email: [email protected] or txt / phone 07903 403057
For more information and details of the venue go to: http://www.birmingham-rep.co.uk/event/the-siege/
The Freedom Theatre is a Palestinian community-based theatre and cultural center located in Jenin Refugee Camp in the northern part of the West Bank. Established in 2006, the theatre aims to generate cultural resistance through the fields of popular culture and art as a catalyst for social change in the occupied Palestinian territories. The theatre’s goals are to “develop a vibrant and creative artistic community that empowers children and young adults to express themselves freely and equally through art while emphasizing professionalism and innovation.”] The theatre teaches courses in film, photography, creative writing, and theatre.
Walsall Kobar Friendship Association – www.walsallkobar.org.uk – [email protected] – www.facebook.com/walsallkobarfriendshipassociation