Theatre
Semites
Verbatim disclosures from Palestine and Israel
‘siːmʌɪt,ˈsɛmʌɪt/ noun. a member of any of the peoples who speak or spoke a Semitic language, including in particular the Jews and Arabs.
Following its London premiere at The Bunker, Bristol’s Muslim-Jewish charity Salaam
Shalom, together with local actor Ben Nathan and director Daniel Goldman (Thebes Land,
You’re Not Like the Other Girls Chrissy), bring this brand new theatre production to The Loco
Klub.
“Palestinians and Israelis have one indisputable thing in common: they are all Semites.
is needed now More than ever
“Featuring recently gathered testimonies from Palestinians and Israelis, Semites explores the
challenges of living an ordinary life under extraordinary circumstances, of having dialogue with the other, of loss and hope, of staying alive.
“Semites is the culmination of three years of research and interviews on location in Israel and
Palestine. Interviewees included students, farmers, yoga practitioners, lawyers, engineers,
journalists, peace activists, settlers and combatants.
“Creator Ben Nathan heard stories from
those who are Jewish, Muslim, Christian, secular, orthodox, settler, ideological, military and
political, on both sides of the Green Line. Using family and friends in the region, and his
familiarity with life on the ground, Ben gained the commitment and trust of these individuals, groups and organisations. Now those stories will be told in this verbatim theatre
production, with Ben acting alongside Lara Sawalha.”
Alongside the production itself, Salaam Shalom plans to work with members of the
production team to deliver workshops, based around the topic of dialogue, to community
organisations and schools in London and the South West.
Ben Nathan comments: “I want to encourage intelligent discourse on the subject. This rarely happens because of our often linear and simplistic view of the conflict. By presenting genuine, human experiences from those living this story, I want
to challenge polarised perspectives and encourage audiences to reflect and re- examine
what they thought they knew. I also want to explore and challenge how much we can trust
a verbatim expression, how messages are transmitted and received.”
Nov 6-10, The Loco Klub, 7.30pm, £13/£10 concs.
For more info, visit semites.one
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