RN Documentary: Theater in the Rubble
Series: RN Focus on Torn Lives - Stories from the Holy Land
From: Radio Netherlands Worldwide
Length: 00:29:29
A decade ago, Dutch theater-maker Jan Willems followed the love of his life to the occupied Palestinian territories.
Following the signing of the Oslo peace accords, he set up a theater company. Theater Day Productions' goal is simple: to offer a day of drama to all school-aged Palestinian children in Gaza and Hebron.
The plays, which are based on life in the occupied territories, are followed by workshops in which children are encouraged to talk about the issues they face on a daily basis.
It's a heart-warming tale about a man trying, in his own small way, to restore some humanity in the occupied territories.
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Piece Description
A decade ago, Dutch theater-maker Jan Willems followed the love of his life to the occupied Palestinian territories. Following the signing of the Oslo peace accords, he set up a theater company. Theater Day Productions' goal is simple: to offer a day of drama to all school-aged Palestinian children in Gaza and Hebron. The plays, which are based on life in the occupied territories, are followed by workshops in which children are encouraged to talk about the issues they face on a daily basis. It's a heart-warming tale about a man trying, in his own small way, to restore some humanity in the occupied territories.
Transcript
Radio Netherlands, the Dutch International Service, presents “Under Foreign Skies – Portraits of Dutch people abroad doing remarkable things”. The program is produced by Eric Beauchemin.
TEASER 0’13”
The violence that comes with the Israeli occupation is devastating…is making people crazy. The humanity is lost. I think only culture can help us find back that humanity.
Jan Willems is a theatre-maker who arrived in the Palestinian occupied territories nearly a decade ago. Like many people of his generation, Jan Willems was active in protest movements in the 1970s and 80s. He was a squatter. He actively opposed nuclear energy and like hundreds of thousands of his countrymen, he demonstrated against the stationing of nuclear missiles on Dutch soil. Throughout this turbulent period, Jan Willems was also active in youth theatre and drama, both as an actor and a director. In th...
Read the full transcript
Musical Works
In A'd Rifaki, Palestine Music of the Intifada, CDVE 29, 1989, 1'05"
Dal'ouna on the Return, Gilad Atzmon & the Orient House Ensemble, Exile, TIP-888 844 2, 2003, 1'20"
Chefti Telli, H. Aram Gulezyan and his instrumental group, The Oud Music of the Near East and Middle East, LYRCO 7160, 1'15"
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Mary McGrath
Posted on September 21, 2004 at 06:05 PM | Permalink
Review of RN Documentary: Theater in the Rubble
Less a documentary and more a long-form interview, this piece is a profile of a Dutch director who develops a youth theater group in the Occupied Territories. With half of the Palestinian population under the age of 15, it's a fertile experiment. Jan Willems is thoughtful and compelling on the subject of the power of culture and art in a society disfigured by conflict and violence. The piece would have more dimensions with additional interviews with cast members and audience; as it is it's an interesting portrait of an artist who found his creative voice helping young Palestinian children find theirs.