Palestinian Theatre in the West Bank

Since the 1990s, Palestinian theatrical activities in the West Bank have expanded exponentially. As well as local productions, Palestinian theatre-makers have presented their work to international audiences on a scale unprecedented in Palestinian history. This book explores the histories of the five major theatre companies currently working in the West Bank: Al-KasabaTheatre, AshtarTheatre, Al-Harah Theatre, TheFreedom Theatre andAl-Rowwad. Taking the first intifada (1987-93) as his point of departure, and drawing on original fieldwork and interviews withPalestinianpractitioners,Gabriel Vargheseintroduces the term 'abject counterpublics' toexplore how theatre-makers contest Zionist discourse and Israeli state practices. By foregrounding Palestinianvoices, andplacing theories of abjection and counterpublic formation in conversation with each other,Vargheseargues that theatre in the West Bank has been regulated by processes of colonial abjection and, yet, it is an important site for resisting Zionism's discourse oferasure and Israeli settler-colonialism and apartheid.Palestinian Theatre in the West Bank: Our Human Facesis the first major account of Palestinian theatre covering the last three decades.