The book outlines the development of Palestinian theatre from the first theatrical attempts before 1948, to the heavy blow, which these attempts suffered as a result of the Nakba, to regeneration of the professional theatre out of the ashes of the 1967 defeat, through to the role the theatrical troupes played in the Palestinian nation-building process. The study also provides a glimpse into the nature of the current Palestinian theatrical movement, its artistic framework, the main themes and poetic traits as well as its major sources of influence.
This is the first book in non-Arabic language on Palestinian drama and theatre. The book outlines the historical development of Palestinian dramatic activities from their hesitant rise before 1948 and the first theatrical attempts to the heavy blow which these attempts suffered as a result of the establishment of the State of Israel, to the regeneration of professional theatre out of the ashes of the 1967 defeat, through to the activities of the 1970s and the role they played in Palestinian nation-building.
It provides a glimpse into the nature of the current Palestinian theatrical movement, the artistic framework within which it developed, its main themes and poetic traits as well as its major sources of influence. The study is essentially an historical one, but the methodology is combined with literary and dramatic perspectives and insights. Emphasis is placed on the historical development of practical theatrical activities and the rise of dramatic literature, with special attention given to the institutions in which those activities took place. An attempt has been made to present in some detail several of the most important dramatic works in the various historical phases.
In addition to an analysis of the written texts, the discussion of the plays also refers to the relevant details of their practical staging. The study includes in-depth investigation of the activities of two major professional Palestinian troupes: the al-Balalin and al-Hakawati, due to the vital effect these troupes have had on the professionaliztion of Palestinian theatre.
The primary audience of the book are scholars and students of Arabic culture and literature, as well as scholars and students of theatre and Palestinian nationalism. The book will also be of interest to intellectuals interested in Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Literatures in Context is a peer-reviewed book series devoted to Near Eastern and North African literatures. The editors want the title of the series to be understood programmatically. They presuppose a concept of world literature that includes Near Eastern and North African literatures. What is more, they assume that literatures are in many ways marked by intertextuality, that they constitute readings of extremely diverse earlier texts, and that they are posited within a field of tensions, much broader than their respective national language. For the earlier eras of Near Eastern and North African literatures, this field of tensions geographically covers the regions of the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean and Asia Minor. In modern times, it has become a space of interaction that has long since included “global” Western literatures (and realities). This does not imply that the modern Near Eastern and North African literatures have severed themselves from their predecessors. Instead it is precisely the tension between different sets of references in modern Near Eastern and North African literatures, or their “local historical context”, which is a great part of their attraction, that remains a crucial field of research for the modern scholar.
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