A living hub for the people of Palestine — those who shaped it, and those who stood with it.

Suggest a profile

Path 08 of 20

Faces of Palestinian Theater

Immerse yourself in the vibrant sphere of Palestinian theater, where the stage becomes a mirror reflecting a rich heritage and a spirited contemporary voice.

  • 13 theater makers
  • Born 1897–1992
  • 2 from Nablus
The entrance of the Freedom Theatre, JeninThe entrance of the Freedom Theatre, Jenin
The Palestinian National Theatre, JerusalemThe Palestinian National Theatre, Jerusalem
Ashtar Theatre, RamallahAshtar Theatre, Ramallah
Photos: Guillaume Paumier (CC BY 3.0), RonAlmog (CC BY 2.0), InTroubleWithTheKing (CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons

About Theater

A stage where none was allowed.

Palestinian theater has often been made in borrowed rooms and under curfew. In Jerusalem in 1977 the El-Hakawati troupe began telling Palestinian stories on stage, and its home later became the Palestinian National Theatre.

In 2006 the Freedom Theatre opened in the Jenin refugee camp, giving young people a stage of their own. Today companies such as Khashabi Theatre in Haifa, and writers such as Dalia Taha, bring plays about siege, exile and ordinary life to audiences far beyond Palestine.

The people in this path act, write, direct and make people laugh. From Ramallah to New York, they turn lived experience into theater.

All 13 theater makers

Every face in Theater, from the earliest pioneers to the voices of today.

Born across the decades

Tap a decade to filter · 1 without a recorded birth year

  1. 1890s
  2. 1900s
  3. 1910s
  4. 1920s
  5. 1930s
  6. 1940s
  7. 1950s
  8. 1960s
  9. 1970s
  10. 1980s
  11. 1990s

13 theater makers