The Islamic Trust Studies Emergency Lecture “Drama Reading of ‘Gaza Mono-Logues’: Giving Voice to the Voiceless of Palestine” will be jointly held by
B03 “Trust and Peace Building in Conflict Affected Areas” with Public Lecture “Connecting Languages to Society and Culture: Intercultural Communication for Global Engagement” of College of Intercultural Communication, Rikkyo University.

“The Gaza Mono-Logues” is a project initiated and produced by the Ashtar Theatre, located in the West Bank, Palestine. This work started with a series of monologues written by thirty-three youths from the Gaza Strip, following the Israeli aggression on Gaza in 2008-2009. Thereafter, the stories have continued with new monologues added following the aggression on Gaza in 2014 and the ongoing invasion since 2023.

In light of the catastrophic aggression that is continuously causing immense loss and destruction, Ashtar Theatre has called for the global reading of “The Gaza Mono-Logues” by theatre people all over the world. In this performance, actors from the theater company “Rational Eccentrics (Riseiteki-na-Henzintachi)” and others will read the monologues, in two rounds, Part I and Part II. The monologues give voice to the voiceless of Palestine. During the intermission between Part I and Part II, Ms. Maho Watanabe, a translator of theatre works from Palestine/Israel, will provide commentary on the monologues. Through the reading, we will try to approach the personal experiences of individuals living in Gaza.

Date & Time : February 24, Saturday, 2024, 13:00-16:30 (Doors open at 12:30)

Venue : Tucker Hall, Ikebukuro Campus, Rikkyo University

Program：
12:30 Doors Open 
13:00 Opening
13:10-14:10 Reading of “The Gaza Mono-Logues: Part I”
14:10-14:25 Break Time
14:25-15:00 Lecture by Maho Watanabe, Translator/Supervising Editor
15:00-15:15 Break Time
15:15-16:15 Reading of “The Gaza Mono-Logues: Part II”
16:30 Closing

Language：Japanese
Condition：In-person event

Pre-registration：Please use this form for the registration. 

<Speakers’ Profile>
Ms. Maho WATANABE (Interpreter/Translator, Dramaturge) graduated from the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies with a major in Arabic. She began her theatrical activities in 2014 when she participated in “Rashomon｜Yabunonaka (In a Grove),” a co-production of Al-Kasaba Theatre and Japanese theatre artists during her studies in Palestine. Her translation works for the theatre include “Palestine, Year Zero,” “Prisoners of the Occupation” by E. Weizman, “Lilac Duhaa (Death in the Era of Daesh)” by G. Ghannam (awarded the Odashima Yushi Award for Drama Translation), and “Al-Qubba’ah wa-l-Nabi (The Hat and the Prophet)” by G. Kanafani. She has been involved in various activities for Palestine, including the translation/interpretation of documentary films and NGO activities.

Rational Eccentrics (Riseiteki-na-Henzintachi)
A theater company exploring the contribution of dramatic art to the connectivity among people and seeking the ideal expression thereof. Consists of five women who have engaged in theatrical activities following their graduation from Tokyo University of the Arts.

Co-organizer : Grant-in-Aid for Transformative Research Areas (A) “Trust and Peace Building in Conflict Affected Areas” (Principal Investigator: Masako Ishii), 20H05829); Public Lecture “Connecting Languages to Society and Culture: Intercultural Communication for Global Engagement” of College of Intercultural Communication, Rikkyo University 

Cooperation：Rational Eccentrics (Riseiteki-na-Henzintachi)

Contact：Masako Ishii　(masang[at]rikkyo.ac.jp