TOURING the country until May and coming to No. 69 O’Connell Street on Friday March 20, ‘Bassam’ is a powerful drama based on the story of Bassam Aramin. Aramin is co-founder of the Israeli-Palestinian peace movement Combatants for Peace. A Palestinian who had spent years in prison, his daughter Abir was killed by a border soldier in 2007, two years after he founded CFP.
This production is about Bassam Aramin’s journey from violence to non-violence. It is the work of Idan Meir, a former Israeli soldier who saw dozens of his comrades killed in south Lebanon in the 1990s.
‘Bassam’ is one man piece, contemplative, articulate and performed by Fadl Mustapha, a Donegal based Palestinian actor. It was programmed originally for a leading theatre festival in Tel Aviv-Jaffa in 2008 and has since been translated from Hebrew to German, Italian, English and Arabic.
We are told that the play “gives an authentic perspective on the ongoing conflict in the Middle East”. Afterwards the audience is invited to stay on to discuss the topics raised with both Meir, the Israeli writer/ director and Mustapha.
The Arts Councils of Ireland and Northern Ireland are co-funding this tour. Book at www.limetreetheatre.ie
