“A New Age for the Living Dead”: Palestinian Nation-Building Through Theater

Abstract

This article is an attempt to trace the emergence and development of Palestinian theater in the shadow of the Israeli-Arab conflict and against the background of the Nakba and Palestinian nation-building. It examines the first dramatic and theatrical attempts made during the first half of the twentieth century, the uprooting and the decline of these efforts after the 1948 War, the repression of Palestinian cultural activities during the 1950s, and the new start and subsequent growth of professional Palestinian theater after 1967, espe- cially with regard to the al-Ḥakawātī troupe. The founder of this troupe was François Abū Sālim (Abu Salem) (1951-2011), the son of a Hungarian-born French poet and a French painter and sculptor, who integrated himself into Palestinian identity and culture. The pro- fessionalization of Palestinian theater in general has been taking a line parallel to the escalation of resistance and has lived up to numerous historical challenges, defying the hardships imposed on the Palestinian people by Israeli government censorship, geographical isolation, and lack of education.