“Living” Room by Abdelfattah Abusrour

If these walls could talk…what would they say about the occupation of Palestine?

If these walls could talk…This is the experience of a “living” room in the West Bank under occupation. Find a comfortable chair in your own living room, and press play.

Abdelfattah Abusrour is founder and director of Alrowwad Cultural and Arts Society, established in 1998 in Aida refugee camp-Bethlehem. His concept and philosophy “Beautiful Resistance”, using performing and visual arts, culture and education, is a creative and peaceful expression in situations of oppression and trauma to provide possibilities to save lives and inspire hope and build peace within individuals to be peace builders in their communities and beyond. He started working with children, youth and later adults, focused also on mothers and women. Mobile Beautiful Resistance program, using theatre, dance, photography, games library (play bus) touring all over the West Bank-Palestine to train trainers and connect with other Palestinian communities and marginalized areas. Abusrour is an author, actor, and theatre director, with a PhD in Biological and Medical Engineering from France in 1993. In 2005, he abandoned his career in Biology because he believed in the power of arts and culture as pure humanity where stereotypes vanish and people are on equal grounds. These are the bridges that people can build together as equals to shape a better future for all the generations to come. Abusrour co-wrote the plays Salut c’est nous in 1990, and Nourrir de faim; in 1993 while studying in France (Co-founder of Paris Nord Théâtre). He has written, adapted or performed in many plays produced in Palestine, including Waiting for the Rain, Staying Alive, When Old Men Cry, “6500,” and others.

Abusrour says: “We don’t have the luxury of despair, but a steadfast hope that we can make a change for our children and the generations to come that we can be proud of” and “Miracles don’t happen alone, we provoke them to happen.”

The sound designer for this play is Wisam Aljafari, and the recording was made in the Alrowwad studios in Aida Camp, West Bank.

Named one of the Top 5 Immersive Companies in NYC by Jonathan Mandell of tdf.org, This Is Not a Theatre Company creates site-based, immersive, multi-sensory, participatory dance-theatre that can be smelled, touched, and tasted as well as seen and heard. This theatre is not something to passively consume, but to co-create. With each production, This Is Not a Theatre Company asks the audience to perceive the world in new ways, to empathize in new ways, and to practice creativity. Visit www.ThisIsNotaTheatreCompany.com.