The Freedom Theatre’s most recent production, Askadinya, centers around the topic of gender-based violence. During November, several performances have been given in Jenin city and camp to audiences from the area as well as audiences from Qalqilya and Tulkarem. The play has also been live streamed to an international audience.
Before Askadinya goes on tour to Bethlehem and Ramallah, The Freedom Theatre and UNESCO – Ramallah Office are happy to jointly present one more performance at The Freedom Theatre in Jenin Refugee Camp, on November 20 at 14:00. To attend, please rsvp to info@thefreedomtheatre.org.
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. The name of the play 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.”
