Freedom Theatre of Palestine Will Perform at Yale

The Yale School of Drama will host a special presentation by company members of Palestine’s The Freedom Theatre Oct. 5 from 4:30-6 pm in the Yale Repertory Theatre Lounge (1120 Chapel Street).
The presentation will include a theatrical introduction to the theatre’s work, a video featuring highlights of their productions performed in Palestine, and a discussion of the impact and legacy of founder Juliano Mer-Khamis. The event is free and open to the public. No reservations are required but space is limited.

The Freedom Theatre is the only professional venue for theatre and multimedia in the north of the West Bank in Occupied Palestine. It opened its doors in 2006, founded by Israeli-Palestinian actor and director Juliano Mer-Khamis, along with Jonathan Stanczyk, a Swedish-Israeli.

Mer-Khamis described his work this way: “When we sat to discuss the name of The Freedom Theatre, we said that the values we’re going to implement or teach for or work with are not based on some kind of political agenda—state, party, flag, army—we want to deal with values that are more universal, that are more on the human level.”

Mer-Khamis, teacher and leader of the The Freedom Theatre, was the award winning director ofArna’s Children, which documents his Israeli mother’s work in a children’s theatre camp in Jenin, for which she was awarded the Alternative Nobel Prize. The award winning stage and film actor, who had a Palestinian father, ran The Freedom Theatre until he was murdered in April 2011 in front of the theatre. Juliano’s sudden death has been a challenge to the company as they try to rebuild and keep the theatre’s work alive.

This event at Yale School of Drama is one of many upcoming stops at institutions across the country, sponsored by The Public Theater in New York City, New York Theatre Workshop, and the Friends of Jenin Freedom Theatre.

For more information about The Freedom Theatre, including additional stops on its US itinerary, visitwww.TheFreedomTheatre.org, or contact Josh Perlstein at 860-832-3155 orperlsteinj@gmail.com.