Output details

48 Minutes for Palestine

The central research question of 48 Minutes for Palestine is: how can we explain the concept of occupation in a naturalistic stage play without the use of any words? In order to challenge an inescapably colonial language, I developed a very simple play, without any words, performed by two actors (Edward Muallem and Riham Issac) and seeking to provide audiences outside Palestine with a visual image of the Palestinian situation. It presents a woman confronted by and living with occupation. The work found new potency in silence: a form accessible to people from all cultures including the deaf (it has also been audio-described for blind audiences), and ironically productive of noisy debate.

The research drew on a range of processes: the exploration of Samuel Beckett’s Act Without Words 1 and 2 in workshops with Phillip Zarrilli, which inspired the initial scenario; and a devising process, undertaken with Ashtar Theatre in Palestine, that could both absorb the facts of occupation and simultaneously insulate those participating (myself as director, and the actors) from its debilitating presence. Adequate separation from the difficulties of situation that the play deals with was sought through the application of Mind-Body techniques developed at the Abbey Theatre with choreographer Cindy Cummings. The process of drawing directly on the Palestinian struggle was developed through a shared interest in games of power and taking space that are part of established Theatre of the Oppressed practice.

The first full production of 48 Minutes for Palestine was created in collaboration with Ashtar Theatre, in Ramallah, Palestine 4 May 2010, with an original musical score by celebrated composer, Rami Washaha. The show has been presented with workshops, post-show discussions and presentations in prisons, schools, theatres, conferences and academic institutions, and has toured to Brazil, Jordan, South Africa, Spain, Sweden and the UK.