Huge congratulations to Ahmed Tobasi on his win in April 2019 for the best monodrama at the Sharm El Sheikh International Theatre Festival For Youth for ‘And Here I Am’! Based on Tobasi’s own life story, the play also stands for a whole generation of Palestinians “in search for freedom of the body, mind and soul since the Palestinian identity is forever intertwined with the occupation, with oppression and a refugee status”. (Read the whole interview with Tobasi here.)
Sharm El Sheikh International Theatre Festival For Youth brings together contributions from the Arab and the Western world, with ‘And Here I Am’ having competed in the monodrama category with plays from France, Syria and Egypt.
Just as the play wants to tell more than just the story of one individual, so does the price have more meaning to Tobasi than just honouring some individual’s work and talent:
We were all thirsty for something, we as The Freedom Theatre, the camp, the community, so this price came at a time when it made everything alive. Everyone felt proud even if they had not been in the festival or in the play and the trust came back that we can really do something. We can really win. And if this kind of subject wins a price, then we can continue. This is why I think the award is important. It’s not for me. It’s for all these people who are watching me enter the theatre each day, asking: What’s this crazy theatre, what are they doing there? Even the people in Egypt, they’re like: Why do Palestinians keep talking about themselves, about their stories? If I hadn’t gotten this price, I would be in deep trouble because I have no practical answers for the people. But this price is an answer for my family, for my community, for The Freedom Theatre, for the people watching me, for the people asking: what are you doing in the theatre? That’s the answer.” Ahmed Tobasi
‘And Here I Am’ has been on tour since it originally opened in the UK a few years ago. Since then, it has been performed all over the West Bank as well as on festivals and other occasions in Norway, Abu Dhabi, Zimbabwe, France, Egypt, the UAE, Slovenia and several other countries.
The play is produced by Developing Artists, written by award winning Iraqi playwright Hassan Abdulrazzak, directed by Zoe Lafferty, and is currently in collaboration with The Freedom Theatre.
Congratulations to everyone involved in bringing this incredible story to life!