Theatre in the Arab world
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Refugee performers and their projects
No more tales of woe
Often refugees on the German stage refugees are still merely authentic narrators of their fate, directed by established German directors. Can they produce their own material and make their own artistic voices heard? By Dorothea Marcus
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Arab theatre at the Zurich Theaterspektakel
Between coma and protest
Political theatre from the Arab world five years after the Arabellion: from a country in a permanent vegetative state comes the piece "While I Was Waiting" by the Syrian playwright Mohammad Al Attar. And in "Zig Zig," an Egyptian theatre group headed by Laila Soliman tells the tale of a gang rape. By Susanne Schanda
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"Queens of Syria" film and theatre project
″I shall leave as my city turns to dust″
In ″Queens of Syria″, ancient Greek tales of loss and dislocation in conflict echo through to the contemporary realities of Syrian women refugees, whose experiences of war and exile have often been ignored
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Interview with Chen Alon
Between the lines
Chen Alon is a teacher at Tel Aviv University, theatre director and co-founder of the NGO Combatants for Peace. In an interview with Fabian Ebeling he talks about how politics in Israel are affecting the cultural sphere and the work of left-wing organisations
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Jenin's Freedom Theatre celebrates 10 years
What′s next for ″cultural resistance″?
Last week, local and international artists and activists converged on the Jenin refugee camp for a week of workshops, talks and performances to mark the 10th anniversary of the Freedom Theatre. A report by Ylenia Gostoli
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Interview with Nabil Al Raee of the Freedom Theatre
"We need more time to be more free"
Based in Jenin refugee camp, the Freedom Theatre is one of the few Palestinian cultural institutions that has succeeded in making a name for itself abroad, touring from India to the United States. Ylenia Gostoli caught up with Nabil Al Raee, who directed the Freedom Theatre's first production in 2006 and has been involved ever since. Al Raee, from Al Arroub refugee camp near Hebron, discusses the company's new production and how it fits into the theatre's rich and controversial history of "cultural resistance"
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Art and revolution in the Arab world in 2015
Struggling against the restoration of "order"
Egypt's Al-Fann Midan (Art is a Public Square) festival, which took place for the first time in April 2011, was one of the most vibrant post-revolutionary spaces for public art in Egypt. But four years after millions of Egyptians took to the streets, the popular festival has disappeared. Marcia Lynx Qualey takes a closer look at the link between art and revolution in Egypt and the Arab world in 2015
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Interview with the Egyptian choreographer Adham Hafez
The disappearance of the kiss
One of the highlights of Berlin's recent Return to Sender theatre festival was a performance of the futuristic piece "2065 BC" by the internationally renowned Egyptian choreographer Adham Hafez. Astrid Kaminski spoke to him about national identities and the arts scene in Cairo
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Culture and censorship in Egypt
Cairo's guardians of morality
Sex, religion and politics are like a red rag to a bull for Egyptian censors. This is particularly worrying for the country's creative artists, who have increasingly been subjected to censorship since President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi assumed power. By Elisabeth Lehmann in Cairo
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Interview with the Egyptian theatre director Laila Soliman
Revolutions past and present
In 1919, Saad Zaghloul demanded the independence of Egypt from the British Empire and went down in history as an Egyptian revolutionary. Almost one hundred years later, in 2011, the world watched the 25 January revolution with bated breath. Laura Pannasch spoke to Laila Soliman about her theatre performance "Whims of Freedom", which draws parallels between the two popular uprisings
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Interview with the Egyptian theatre director Ahmed el-Attar
"Art changes thought in the long term"
Ahmed el-Attar founded the Studio Emad Eddin Foundation (SEE) in 2005. He is also the artistic director of D-Caf, the director of the Falaki Theatre, a producer, theatre director and playwright. In an interview with Barbara Kaufmann, he talks about the importance of having spaces where the arts can be freely explored and practised, about free theatre and about the appeal of contemporary dance in Egypt
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Protest and culture in Palestine
Make art, not war
A recent study by the Arab Studies expert David Kreuer indicates that young Palestinians do not view engaging in armed struggle as the first option when it comes to putting up resistance to Israel. By Joseph Croitoru