"Powerful. Important. Moving." – Ben Jamal (Director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign)

A collection of short political plays in response to warnings that artists shouldn’t be political.

We are living through a moment of horror. Brutality abroad in Palestine and the Global South is justified or ignored by our own government, while new police powers suppress protest at home. Globally far-right movements are growing and so too are Defence budgets. There is much to talk about.

Even the Arts Council started warning that ‘political statements’ made by individuals linked to an organisation can cause ‘reputational risk’, breaching funding agreements. Some are silenced; some are unwilling to speak.

This updated production – with two brand new commissions – returns to the Arcola after a sell out rapid response earlier this year. Playwrights include Hassan Abdulrazzak, Mojisola Adebayo, Phil Arditti, Sonali Bhattacharyya, Nina Bowers, Roxy Cook, Ed Edwards, Afsaneh Gray, Dawn King, Ahmed Masoud, Sami Abu Wardeh, Waleed Elgadi, Joel Samuels and lastly a devised piece inspired by an idea from Nina Segal.

 


 

Post-Show Talk Panellists and Workshops.

 

Tuesday 26th November

Thomas Suarez (Historical Researcher & violinist, ex-West Bank resident & Author of “Palestine Hijacked: How Zionism forged and Apartheid State from river to sea”) 

Alia Malak (PACBI Palestinian Campaign for Academic and Cultural Boycott)

Wednesday 27th November

 Barnaby Raine (PhD and teaching at Columbia University, and Organiser  of Jewish solidarity with Palestine)

 Zena Agha (Palestinian-Iraqi Writer, Artist + Poet, formally Al Shabaka policy fellow)

Thursday 28th November

Aimee Shalan (Director of MAKAN Rights and former CEO of MAP) 

Dr Adam Elliot-Cooper (BLM, Queen Mary University, author of Black Resistance to British Policing and co author of Empires Endgame: Racism and the British state)

Friday 29th November

Rania Hafez, (Lebanese Associate Professor of Education at the University of Greenwich, published on education, religion, class, and identity)

 Andrew Feinstein (Former ANC member of Parliament, South Africa) 

 Ahmed Masoud (Gazan playwright and novelist) 

Saturday 30th November

Dr Rafeef Ziadah (Lebanese/Palestinian Human Rights Activist and Poet) 

Haim Bresheeth (Ex-Israeli filmmaker) 

Monday 2nd December

Hamza Yusuf (Palestinian Journalist for Declassifed UK, featured in Mondoweiss, Tribune Magazine and New Internationalist)

 Dr Eva Kahir (British-Sudanese Doctor and Political advisor)

Tuesday 3rd December

Ben Jamal ( Director of Palestine Solidarity Campaign),

Abdelfattah Abusrour (Director of Alrowwad Cultural and Arts Centre in Aida refugee camp Bethlehem)

Wednesday 4th December

Asil Sidahmed (Strategic Advisor to Minister of Health in Sudan’s transitional Government), 

Selma Dabbagh (British-Palestinian Lawyer and writer) 

Thursday 5th December

Yasmin Ashraf (Palestinian Youth Movement, Britain) 

Hassan Mahamdallie – (Director of the Muslim Institute and senior editor of its journal Critical Muslim. He is an author, playwright and theatre director. Formerly a senior policy officer at Arts Council England.)

Joel Samuels – (playwright, actor and activist. Co-Artistic Director of Bet’n Lev Theatre. Involved in pro-Palestine activism for over 20 years and spent time as an activist in Hebron (Al-Khalil) in the West Bank.)

Friday 6th December

Mohammed Elnaiem (Activist and Director of the Decolonial Centre)

Taghrid Choucair-Vizoso (climate cultural worker, artist, facilitator, activist from South Lebanon. Member of Equity’s International Solidarity Committee)

Asad Rehman – (Executive Director of War on Want. Lifelong activist, organising and campaigning for climate, racial and social justice).