Break the Wall is a curated online archive of short plays about Israel-Palestine that can be downloaded and performed for free.
For Whom: These plays are for anyone concerned with the lack of peace and justice in Palestine. They are for anyone who wants to raise awareness, start dialogue and work towards a just and lasting peace. These plays are for theater professionals, educators, students, performance artists, activists, reading groups, etc.
By Whom: Break the Wall is a resource for work made by and curated by writers and theatre folk of all backgrounds. Some are penned by emerging writers and others by well-established playwrights, journalists, poets, or novelists. Whenever possible the plays here are based on documentary source material.
Inspired by both the text and distribution system of Caryl Churchill’s 7 Jewish Children - as well as a long global tradition of free street theater - Break the Wall aims to provide a continually growing collection of short, free theatrical works that illuminate the central dynamics of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and cut through the fog of deliberate distortions while challenging complicity, complacency, and ignorance in mainstream discourse on Palestine/Israel. It is our hope that by speaking truth through the fire and beauty of theatre, we can engage in conversations that envision reconciliation and peace based on equality and justice as opposed to occupation, discrimination, displacement and domination.
We believe in acknowledging and exploring the true power dynamic of the situation, without the mainstream’s mania for “balance”...which obscures the fact that there is an occupier, Israel, and an occupied people, the Palestinians.
We believe in peace, but also in freedom, equality and human rights for all, regardless of race, gender, orientation or ethnicity.
We believe theatre is political, personal, transformative and inspiring, We believe that it should speak to & with the world around us.
We believe that a growing collection of fearless, well-researched plays can spark meaningful debate. We believe theatre should be brave and challenge injustice as well as the established narratives that underpin injustice.