The Freedom Theatre/Bus: The Challenges of Narrative-Formation in Palestine

In the Spring of 2021, Israel launched another assault on Gaza, during which it destroyed the al-Jalaa tower. Housing international news media outlets, the action was decried as an attempt to control the narrative, and not the first time Israel had done so. Edward Said published the article ‘Permission to Narrate’ during the 1982 Lebanon War, laying bare the need for a commitment to a national Palestinian narrative. Almost forty years later, the opposing narratives to the Israeli-Palestinian discourse are well-documented. However, it is not simply the case that Palestinians are now speaking up. Under the Israeli occupation, narration is not a simple task, and it is important to understand the obstacles facing Palestinian narrators, especially in a twenty-first century context. One activist group attempting to narrate the Palestinian experience is the Freedom Theatre, in the West Bank. Tracing its origins back to the First Intifada, it was created in 2006 as a centre for cultural resistance in the wake of the violence of the Second Intifada. It adhered to a concept called the “Cultural Intifada” – a dual challenge to the Israeli occupation and a restatement of Palestinian culture. The Theatre drew both support and criticism, coming to a head with the assassination of its director, Juliano Mer Khamis. As the Theatre grew, it launched the Freedom Bus in 2011. The Bus travelled to communities in the West Bank, carrying out playback theatre performances. At the same time, through its online platforms, it created a narrative aimed at an international audience. The Freedom Theatre and Bus faced challenges to their narration, as they acted within the confines of the Israeli occupation and the accompanying reality on the ground. Through their efforts, it is possible not only to delineate a Palestinian narrative – to see the “permission to narrate” in action – but to gain an insight into the nuances and realities of creating such a narrative