Ashtar Theatre, Pegasus Youth Theatre

A double bill will be presented highlighting the sharp realities of life under occupation.

Originally staged in Palestine in 2010 ASHTAR Theatre’s 48 Minutes for Palestine is a compelling drama without words, about a woman and a man living together against their will, told totally through physical action and original music.

A woman lives alone and spends her time tending her garden. One day a man walks into her house. He is carrying a suitcase. He looks dishevelled and close to death. The woman does not know who he is. But for him, this place is his home… We see the couple struggle for space and power as the temperature rises and the water is running out fast. Theirs is a forced marriage that neither of them wants, in a place that neither will leave.

The play is directed by Mojisola Adebayo, a British/Nigerian/Danish theatre maker, and accompanied by an original score infused with Eastern European and Middle Eastern music from celebrated composer Rami Washaha.

The second part of the bill, Gaza Monologues, was written with the support of ASHTAR Theatre by thirty young people aged 14-16 following the bombing of the Gaza strip between December 2008 and January 2009. It was performed in a simultaneous world-wide event in 2010 with Pegasus, the only UK based organisation, taking part. The following year the young Gazan writers came to Oxford to perform the piece themselves to an international audience at the Pegasus youth arts festival MESH.

Gaza Monologues is a series of personal stories told of the day that the Gaza strip was bombed, their experiences, fears, hopes and dreams before and after the attack.

The Gaza Monologues will be performed by Pegasus Youth Theatre Company and will be followed by a talkback with members of both companies taking questions from the audience.