ALEX HALL is disgusted by the misuse of ‘emotional narratives’ to justify uninformed geo-political prejudice
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Outstanding Palestinian theatre
SYLVIA HIKINS recommends a wordless production that conveys deeply moving images of occupation and settlement in Palestine
Iman Aoun and Edward Muallem in Oranges and Stones
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JOHN GREEN welcomes an insider account of the achievements and failures of the transition to democracy in Portugal
SIMON PARSONS applauds an imaginative and absorbing updating of Strindberg’s classic
PETER MASON is enthralled by an assembly of objects, ancient and modern, that have lain in the mud of London’s river
MICK McSHANE rubs shoulders with Mod legend Steve Craddock and joins in with the joyous Glasgow choir
DENNIS BROE sifts out the ideological bias of the newest TV series offerings, and picks out what to see, and what to avoid
Oranges & Stones
Unity Theatre, Liverpool
AS part of the Liverpool Arab Arts Festival, Tamasha and Shubbak presented to a full house the bold and visionary Palestinian Ashtar Theatre’s production of Oranges & Stones, a play without words, told solely through physical action and original music.
On the stage floor, created from alternating oranges and stones, a large circle represents the abode where a Palestinian woman lives plus the produce from her land. She lives alone and appears happy.
Then, without warning, an older man emerges from the dark backdrop carrying a huge, almost empty suitcase, steps into her area of the circle. She is surprised, unsure. Seeing a jug of water, the man wants some. She obliges. He gulps it down, asks for more, continues guzzling her precious commodity, and tries to wrestle the jug from her.
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