The Freedom Theatre’s most recent production, Askadinya, centers around the topic of gender-based violence. During November, several performances have been held in Jenin camp and city to audiences from the area as well as from Qalqilya, Sebastiya and Tulkarem. The play has also been live streamed to an international audience. Now, Askadinya comes to Bethlehem for two performances:
November 28th at 12:00, Dar al-Kalima College – Performance for students
November 28th at 14:00, Dar al-Kalima College – Open performance
The Askadinya project is carried out with support from UNESCO Ramallah Office, through the activities of Palestinian Women’s Research and Documentation Centre, PWRDC, funded by the Government of Norway and in cooperation with the Palestinian Ministry of Women’s Affairs. It began with interactive theatre workshops with women in marginalized communities throughout the West Bank and based on the women’s stories a play was devised, which came to be called Askadinya.
The name is a play on words; askadinya, the loquat fruit, and azka dinya, the tastiest life. It is taken from a true story told by a woman who came to represent both the women in this project and the symbolism of the tree in Palestinian culture. It is also a question; what is the most tasty life? To be together, men and women, as equals, or not?
“The Askadinya might just be a tree in the eyes of Man. But when looked at with care, the Askadinya tree is an incredibly intricate structure with more than 3000 roots reaching deep into the ground.
All of them, every single little root, work together to provide the tree with the strength it needs to grow and give fruit. It doesn’t ask for much – just that we… let it live. And it will bloom in all its splendour, year after year after year.”
Other remaining performances
December 9th, at 9:30, Palestinian Red Crescent Society, Al Beireh, Ramallah (Opening of the conference The Role of Women in Peacebuilding and Reconstruction, organized by UNESCO through the Palestinian Women’s Research and Documentation Centre (PWRDC) funded by Norway and in cooperation with the Palestinian Ministry of Women’s Affairs MoWA)
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