S1: E2: ‘A Midsummer Night's Dream’ in Palestine

Season 1: “Sonnets in the Sands” - Arabic Shakespeare

In this episode, I discuss a 2011 adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream, by the Drama Academy at the Al-Qasaba theatre in Ramallah. Although a comedy and not a tragedy like last episode's play (Hamlet), the fraught political context in Palestine and the ongoing occupation led to unintended effects on the humour of the play. Join me as I break down the play's costuming, language, and directorship, and discuss wider concerns like Orientalism, or the recently ended ceasefire in Palestine.