Theatre Falastini مسرح فلسطيني Palestijns theater
“Contemporary Palestinian theater is a dynamic site of reflection and aesthetics. It presents a dramaturgy of resistance. [...] Even under the most precarious of circumstances, these plays draw the contours of a theater which, though marked by violence and loss, continues to create stories, performances and connection.”
-Najla Nakhlé-Cerruti
This evening presents the work of three contemporary Palestinian playwrights: Dalia Taha, Bashar Murkus and Rimah Jabr. Their work reflects the richness and variety of Palestinian theater, as well as the reality and the experience of life in occupied Palestine, through Palestinian eyes. A theater of resistance, and a showcase of the resilience of Palestinian culture.
Rasha Hilwi introduces the evening through her unique story-telling, and then the plays by Dalia Taha, Bashar Murkus and Rimah Jabr are shown, interpreted by Moos Wilhelm and Betül Şefika. The evening is in Arabic, Dutch and English and will be made accessible in all three languages.
About the artists
Rasha Hilwi is a Palestinian writer, journalist, editor, storyteller, cultural curator, and DJ. Born in Akka and living in Amsterdam, she explores the questions and narratives surrounding “Home بيت” and “Ghorbah غربة” in her writing and performances, and their intersections with motherhood, personal narratives, memories, history, and identity.
Dalia Taha is a poet, playwright, and lecturer with a Master of Fine Arts in playwriting from Brown University. She was a longtime editor of the magazine “Yaraat” and has published three poetry collections, a novel, and a children’s poetry collection. Her first play, Keffiyeh/Made in China, premiered in Brussels before touring seven Palestinian cities in the West Bank. Her poetry collection, Enter World, is being published in English by Graywolf Press.
Bashar Murkus is a playwright and theater director. As artistic director of the independent Khashabi Theatre, he and his artistic teams create work that balances between “writing for the stage” and “writing on the stage.” His oeuvre includes acclaimed productions such as Parallel Time (2014), Other Places (2017), The Museum (2019), and Milk (2022).
Rimah Jabr is a theatre director, playwright, screenwriter, and PhD candidate in Theatre and Performance Studies at York University. She has written and directed several plays, which have been performed in Belgium, Canada, and Palestine, including Ghurba (2025), Broken Shapes (2022), Raya (2018), High Heels & Stuffed Zucchini (2015), and Two Ladybugs (2013). She also directed two short films: De-Clutter (2024) and You’ve Seen It on TV (2025).
Moos Wilhelm is an actress, theatre director, and theatre teacher, and studied at the Amsterdam University of the Arts and the Maastricht Theatre Academy, among others.
Betül Şefika is a visual artist and writer. In her work, she primarily explores the meaning of presence and absence in text and image. She participated in a writing residency with deBuren in 2020 and, together with Maarten van de Graaff, contributed to the project “Besmette Stad”.
This evening is a collaboration with Mint Arts Platform, which, in collaboration with publisher Bebuquin and with support from Perdu, among others, published a book in 2025 featuring texts by Taha, Murkus, and Jabr: Palestijns theater: hedendaagse teksten. The program is curated by Rasha Hilwi, Cees Vossen of Mint Arts Platform, and Jarmo Berkhout on behalf of Perdu, and is hosted by Rasha Hilwi.
