Palestinian Play 'Ana Hurra' Touring the US in October
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Ana Hurra (I am Free), a play depicting the struggle of Palestinian political prisoners, will be coming to the U.S. from October 7-23, 2011. The tour, sponsored by the US Palestinian Community Network, will bring the play, written and directed by Palestinian artist Valantina Abu Oqsa, to the West Coast, Midwest and South, and the East Coast. Three members of the troupe are traveling from Palestine on this tour. If you are interested in sponsoring a performance, please contact USPCN at uspcn@uspcn.org, or Monadel Herzallah at mmonadel@yahoo.com.
Ana Hurra is a play that depicts one of the interrogation sessions in Israeli jails. The play, written and directed by Palestinian artist Valantina Abu Oqsa, is based on testimonies and stories by political female prisoners who stood heroically in defiance against their interrogators. Abu Oqsa creates a theatre experience that is derived from the Palestinian reality through studies and in-depth research that lasted almost one year and culminated in interviews with several former Palestinian male and female political prisoners, documenting the experiences to the tiniest detail, delving into the unknown and revealing facts, constituting a precedent in the Palestinian theater and for the Palestinian prisoners in general.
The play was considered as a first of its kind by all standards, but particularly in terms of providing details of what Palestinians go through in the Israeli occupation prisons, especially women. Abu Oqsa derived credibility for her work through research, studies, interviews, and live testimonies of many former prisoners over a period of almost one year.
In a very significant and valuable reaction to the play, the prominent and very well known thinker Dr. Ahmad Qattamesh said in a letter to Abu Oqsa “.. how closely intertwined is culture and politics, creativity and noble causes. Aristotle said in the past that art is a personal feeling that seeks the abstract to eliminate the ugliness and the mistakes. Brecht, however, pointed to the social function of art and described it as a sensibility and interaction with people’s causes while expressing them at the same time. “I am free” was a display and an illustration of all aspects of art from Brecht’s perspective. The performance could not have reached this aesthetic brilliance and the acting could not have soared to this level had it not been for the deep feeling and the reformulation of the scenes to match the vibrations of the heart and the mind in terms of acting and directing. It would not have been possible had it not been for the complete support to the message and main idea of the play…
“It is very courageous and bold to address some of the scenes with such sensitivity and seriousness. Any roughness on the stage is only a reflection of some of the things that take place in the cells of the ‘liberal’ occupation in terms of language and immoral and racist actions. You cried Valantina, and Hussein enacted the role of the villain! However, from the audience seats, the spectators were swept away by amazement and complex sentimental reactions. Onward and forward.
US Palestinian Community Network