On 30 March 2018, protesters in the Gaza Strip engaged in a peaceful demonstration for “Land Day,” a Palestinian commemoration of the expropriation of lands for Israeli settlements in 1976. During the march, Palestinians approached the border with Israel where the Israeli army opened fire with live ammunition and tank shells, killing at least fifteen demonstrators. Dozens of others were wounded. In the weeks and months that followed, Palestinian protesters continued to protest at the Gaza border. As this issue goes to print, the International Committee of the Red Cross reports that at least 116 Palestinians have been killed in protests framed as the “Great March of Return” since 30 March 2018, and as many as thirteen thousand have been injured. This spring's events, coinciding with the seventieth anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel and the US decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem, offer yet another reminder of the violence and dispossession that for decades have characterized Palestinian life under Israeli occupation.
This article explores the increasing number of Palestinian theatre productions and practitioners on the British scene. Through two case studies, it unravels different strategies adopted to cope with the "burden of representation" which stems from postcolonial power structures still present today. The new system of international funding for theatre promotes a predetermined notion of authenticity in the representation of Palestinian identity, which British-Palestinian collaborative theatre productions seek to deconstruct.1. Some examples of these collaborations are, for instance, Al-Rowwad and The Freedom Theatre's network of UK friends, which actively support both theatres. Besides, the Edinburgh Forest Fringe 2015 presented "Shakespeare's sisters", produced by Beit-Jala-based Al-Harah Theatre, in an event developed through a collaboration between Forest Fringe, London's Gate Theatre, and the playwright David Greig, with significant support from the A. M. Qattan Foundation and the British Council. Palestinian playwrights like Raeda Ghazaleh, Dalia Taha and Imad Farajin have participated in the Royal Court International Residency. Furthermore, the Globe Theatre performed "Hamlet" in Ramallah on October 2015 within its world tour.
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