The Land's Heart is Greater than its Map – Shubbak - London festival of contemporary Arab culture

man walks up a staircase into the clouds

man walks up a staircase against a stone wall

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معلومات

There is a far away city which cannot be named. Its people are silenced and its landscape is disappearing.

In this distant city, daily life is stranger than fiction: you can see the sea but are forbidden to touch it, being honest is illegal and those with ancestral connections to the city are forbidden to enter it.

Propelled by a need to tell the city’s story before it is forever forgotten, a resident records the stories behind his favourite places.

This alternative guided tour allows you to wander through the streets of his hometown. Your journey to this distant city will take place within the streets of London and requires only comfortable shoes and an open imagination.

Ramzi Maqdisi is a Palestinian filmmaker, writer and actor. His work addresses the minute and everyday aspects of life under occupation. Using subtle, subversive and visual storytelling, he seeks to convey an experience of the overwhelming nature of occupation through zooming in on the tiny details that we all, as humans, share.

Olivia Furber is a theatre director and writer working across theatre and installation; indoors, outdoors and in places you weren’t expecting to find her.

هناك مدينة نائية لا يُعرف اسمها. أهلها صامتون ومناظرها متلاشية.

في هذه المدينة البعيدة الحياة اليومية أغرب من الخيال: يمكنك أن ترى/ي البحر ولكن لمسه ممنوع. وأن يكون المرء صادقاً أمر غير شرعي، ومن لهم علاقة قرابة في هذه المدينة يُحرّم عليهم دخولها.

بدافع الحاجة إلى سرد قصة المدينة قبل أن تنسى إلى الأبد يقوم أحد سكانها بتسجيل القصص الكامنة خلف أماكنه المفضّلة.

الرحلة البديلة بقيادة هذا المرشد تسمح لك بالتجول داخل شوارع مسقط رأسه. رحلتك إلى هذه المدينة البعيدة ستكون ضمن شوارع لندن ولا تتطلب هذه الرحلة إلا أحذية مريحة وخيال منفتح.

رمزي المقدسي هو صانع أفلام فلسطيني، كاتب وممثل. يتناول عمله الجوانب الدقيقة اليومية للحياة تحت الاحتلال. مستخدماً أسلوب قصصي رفيع، تقويضي وبصري، يسعى إلى نقل تجربة الطبيعة القاهرة للاحتلال بالتركيز على التفاصيل الدقيقة التي نتشاركها جميعاً كبشر.

أوليفيا فوربير مخرجة مسرحية وكاتبة تعمل بين المسرح والإلستريشن؛ في الداخل والخارج وفي أماكن لا يمكنك أن تتوقع/ي وجودها بها.

Ramzi Maqdisi is a Palestinian filmmaker, writer and actor. His work addresses the minute and everyday aspects of life under occupation. Using subtle, subversive and visual storytelling, he seeks to convey an experience of the overwhelming nature of occupation through zooming in on the tiny details that we all, as humans, share. Ramzi began his professional career as an actor in the Palestinian National Theatre (2000-2005) and went on to work internationally with theatres such as The Nordic Black Theatre (Norway), La Invenció (Spain) and Khashabi (Palestine). As a director he has staged numerous works at at the Palestinian National Theatre and his work as a writer has been produced by Northern Stage (Here is the News from Over There) & Ensemble 52 (Aviatrix). His film acting credits include Ghost Hunting (Winner of the Berlinale Prize for Best Documentary), Omar and The Attack.

Ramzi is co-artistic director of Quds Art Films; a collective of artists from Europe and the Middle East covering multiple disciplines including film, theatre and installation. Their theatre work has been produced by the Palestinian National Theatre and recent film projects have had global festival releases as well as airing on BBC Arabic and Al Jazeera.

Olivia Furber is a theatre director and writer working across theatre and installation; indoors, outdoors and in places you weren’t expecting to find her. She trained in movement direction at Opera North and has gone on to direct, assistant direct and deliver dramaturge work for York Theatre Royal, London International Festival of Theatre, Ensemble52 and Theatre Hullabaloo. Her work focuses on borders (both those which are written into the mind and drawn into the ground) and how humans find ever-ingenious ways to cross them. From 2012-2021 she was co-artistic director of Ivo theatre with whom she created a heterogeneous mix of theatre, live art & VR that was fierce, rigorous and sideways in form and content. Their work has been produced with partners including The National Theatre, Almeida Theatre, The British Council and IETM.

Presented in partnership with the Barbican.
London premiere commissioned by Shubbak Festival.
Developed with the support of The British Council, Hoch X, The Albany, Ensemble 52 and the Blast Theory Residency Programme. The artistic concept was initially conceived through a research workshop with Meta Theater, Villa Waldberta and IETM.