Joe Martin

Staging Athol Fugard in Palestine Joe Martin

In 2011 and again in 2014, director and playwright Joe Martin went to Jerusalem and Palestine to introduce the work of South African playwright Athol Fugard: In the first instance at the invitation of philosopher Sari Nusseibeh, President of Al Quds University, and in the second by Rev. Mitri Raheb, founder of the Dar al-Naddwa Arts Center in Bethlehem. As the work proceeded, it was clear that these works from the era of the peaceful transformation of South Africa would provide more than interesting parallels for peace-makers and people living under occupation. The life and events surrounding the projects would profoundly affect the theatre work itself--in the case of the last production, with cycles of violence winding up toward another war. Part theatre journal, part performance studies and photo-journalism, the book shows art giving people under pressure the composure to reflect and change.