Premiere: Prisoners of the Occupation – Audio Play

Marius Kolbenstvedt

The Prisoner of Occupation is a documentary play written by Israeli performing artist Einat Weizman together with Palestinian political prisoners.

The play breaks a taboo in Israeli society by giving voice to the most secretive of all the victims of Israel’s occupation: the Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli prisons or camps. Where the Israeli public discourse uses only terms such as “terrorists” or “security threats”, Weizman presents people who tell their own stories, with a wide range of political and personal motivations for their often non-violent activism.

The performance follows the young boy Wisam from his first encounter with soldiers, prison guards, torturers and more experienced fellow prisoners. Imprisonment of young people as young as 12 is a widespread practice in Palestine. One in four Palestinians ends up in prison, regardless of whether they have done anything or not. Any opposition to the occupation is cracked down on. You can be imprisoned for throwing a stone, or just for publishing a poem on Facebook.

The play was banned in Israel and taken off the poster before the planned premiere at the country’s largest theater festival in 2017. The play has been played in a censored version on independent stages since 2019.

The first full version premiered on the Vega stage during the documentary festival HUMAN in February 2020.

In advance, the ensemble has worked with young actors associated with Vega ung. Their interpretation of the text was shown during Showbox 2019 as a reading.

The audio play version is produced with the support of corona funds from the cultural council.

Produced by Motforestillinger

Translation, facilitation and direction: Marius Kolbenstvedt
Sound design: Merete Mongstad
Dramaturgy: Terje Ranes
Consultant: Vibeke Harper

Actors:
Einat Weizman
Terje Skonseng Naudeer
Benjamin Røsler
Marius Kolbenstvedt
Thomas Hildebrand
Nora Svalheim
Trine Wiggen
Per Amund Riseng
Harald Kolaas
Gisle Hass
Terje Ranes
Casper Falck-Løvås

Supported by Norsk kulturråd, Fritt ord, Fond for lyd og bilde, spenn.no, FFUK, Norske dramatikeres forbund, Norsk skuespillersenter, Dramatikkens hus, migrant.no, Grenland Friteater, Palestinakommiteen i Norge, Palestinakommiteen i Oslo, Minerva Art Academy, Østfold Internasjonale Teater, The Theatre of Corruption, Palestinabutikken Al Quds, Vårskjermfest, Vega scene and documentary festival HUMAN.