Plays from Palestine

An evening of sharing and music in the Royal Court Bar, with extracts from three plays developed through our Palestinian Writers' Group.

The Black Hand by Roua Razmak

'Between slumber and awakening, the face of Palestine wavers.'

Somewhere between an interrogation cell and a country on fire, one young man holds tight to his dignity, even as the state tries to break his body, his voice and his future. A sister, a brother, and a nation are pulled between fear and resistance, between survival and betrayal.

Two Lives and a Dream by Suad Shawahneh

‘I used to hear your mum saying that she doesn’t lock the front door of the house with a key. Every day, she leaves the door unlocked, and she waits for you to come back - some night, morning, or dawn.’

A house is waiting. Inside a woman tidies, sorts, throws some things away and keeps others close. Behind prison walls, a man rewrites time and his memories of love. A portrait of longing under occupation, a duet across a distance.

The Dream and the Shirt by Ali Abu Ayyash

"Sometimes I feel that the seed I grew from is the source of my suffering.”

It is 2009, and cousins Udai and Majdi work as guards at the tomb of prophet Matta. Udai is haunted, believing that his father's shirt is cursed. In an attempt to save his father, he steals the shirt - only to be forced by his friends to wear it himself. A story of love, loss, belief, and what it means to try and make sense of a senseless world.
 

About the Group

From 2018-2023, partnered with the A.M Qattan Foundation and the British Council, the Royal Court ran a Writing For Theatre programme in Palestine, supporting emerging playwrights. This summer, final translations of a number of the plays were completed. We could not be more delighted to share extracts of two of these plays with you, our writing community, to mark the translation of these new works.

The Royal Court has been working in Palestine since 1998 under the leadership of Elyse Dodgson, founder of our International Department. Dozens of playwrights have now undertaken long-term workshops and writing programmes. Since 2018, this has been supported by multiple associates, including Lucy Morrison and Sam Pritchard, playwright EV Crowe, producer Ralph Thompson, playwright Dalia Taha and actor and playwright Khawla Ibraheem.

These scripts were produced by writers who participated in “Writing for Theatre” a training programme for aspiring Palestinian playwrights which was carried out in several phases between 2018 and 2023 in Palestine, through a partnership between the A. M. Qattan Foundation, the British Council, and the Royal Court Theatre.