Olive Jar جرّة زيتون by Elias Matar – Fri 26 April

Olive Jar blooms from nearly a year of workshops with the community local to the Grand Junction venue, exploring the rich heritage of West Londoners from Syria, Iraq, Palestine, Lebanon, Morocco, and beyond. The show is an invitation to those with Arab heritage to share these familiar stories as well as anyone who holds dear the power of storytelling to bring us closer together.

EXTRAORDINARY STORIES TOLD BY THE COMMUNITY:

Sarah Joy Dawoud, Iraq- Assyrian | Nasrin Trabulsi, Syria | Amal Faisal, Saudi Arabia | Mariam Al-Hussona, Algeria | Hafiza Ibrahim, Palestine | Lana Alwaily, Iraq | Adam Farhat, Lebanon | Ali A. Al-shimar, Kuwait-Iraq | Lina Alchami, Syria | Majida Jawhar, Palestine | Ali, Iraq-Syria | Phayaphi Alkhayoon, Iraq

CREATIVES

Elias Matar, Director:

Director, playwright and performer Elias Matar grew up in Ibillin Village in Galilee and is now based in London. Elias founded Ibillin Theatre and El Bayet Centre for Performing Arts, for whom he directed site-specific production, Rooms. Other directing credits include A Dress of My Own, a feminist dance theatre production for El Amal Dance Company (Nazratheh), Needle and Thin Thread for Almanarah Institution (Nazareth), and Nisan Darkness, a musical production of El Karawan Choir (Ibillin). He was a senior member of Salma Dance Company (Haifa), where he co-directed and taught drama. In the UK, Elias has performed in a number of festivals around the UK, including The Journey Home, an interactive site-specific play for Asha Centre (Gloucestershire).

Ruba Shamshoum, Composer and Musician:

Ruba is a Palestinian musician, born and raised in Nazareth and currently living in London. A creator of poetic dream pop, a fusion of soulful sounds – Her voice encapsulates jazz elements and Middle Eastern vibes with colourful harmonies. Ruba self-released her debut album ‘Shamat’ (2017), written and released by her, as well as her EP ‘Risha’ (2021) which was produced by Grammy-nominated producer Alev Lenz. She wrote music for the film “When I Saw You”, and has released songs that were part of top indie charts in the Middle East and North Africa. Ruba has collaborated on tracks with musicians from Ireland and the Middle East, as well as performing on stage at international festivals in Ireland, the UK, and the Middle East.

Katherina Radeva, Set and Costume Designer:

Katherina is a set and costume designer, a theatre maker and a visual artist. Born in the Thracian Valley, Bulgaria, Katherina has lived in the UK since 1999. Her multi-award-winning designs have been seen on all continents and her practice as a theatre maker and co-artistic director of Two Destination Language tours is extensive in the UK and internationally. She is a vocal campaigner for inclusion and diversity and fair pay for arts and cultural workers. Her visual artwork has been exhibited across Europe and the United States.

www.katherinaradeva.co.uk

www.twodestinationlanguage.com

Mike Tweddle, Dramaturg:

Mike is a theatre director, writer, dramaturg and teacher. From 2016-22 he was the Artistic Director of Tobacco Factory Theatres in Bristol, where he directed five productions and provided script development and dramaturgy for seven new plays. Before Bristol, Mike co-led the theatre ensemble Out of Chaos, directing and writing shows that toured to over 200 theatres and won three international awards. He also created work with performance collective Babakas, including the critically acclaimed Our Fathers which toured Poland, Lebanon and the UK. From 2010-2015 Mike was co-founder and co-director of BE FESTIVAL, Birmingham’s European theatre festival.

Nigel Edwards, Lighting Designer:

Nigel is a lighting designer who has spent 33 years with  Forced Entertainment,  21 with Michael Laub/Remote Control and 14 with  Ryuichi Sakamoto. Nigel’s recent work includes Hear The Angels Sing by Magnetic North, This Is Memorial Device at Wee Red Bar, Marc Almond UK tour, Hold Tight by Vincent Dance, War Requiem Nitin Sawnhney/Coventry Cathedrals. He has also worked with Anthony Neilson, Mark Ravenhill, Vicky Featherstone, Debbie Tucker-Green, Fumiyo Ikeda, Diamanda Galas, Jeff Beck, Heiner Goebbels, Wendy Houstoun, Nightmares on Wax, Ensemble Modern, James MacDonald, Pamela Carter, Joss Pook, Sarah Kane, Yellow Magic Orchestra, Simon Stephens, The People Show, The Right Size, getinthebackofthevan.

Thom Ashworth, Production Manager

Thom Ashworth has been a freelance musician, sound engineer and videographer for more than 20 years. Recent credits include projects with Goldie, Talvin Singh, and Shakespeare’s Globe. As a folk musician, Thom is a critically acclaimed singer and bassist, described by FRUK as “like a modern day Martin Carthy”. A long-term member of Sam Lee’s The Nest Collective, Thom co-created the immersive online experience Singing With Nightingales: Live, which blends improvised music with remote broadcast of live birdsong from the woodlands of Sussex.

Thomashworth.com

Laila Latifa, Stage Manager:

A freelance theatre professional of Moroccan, Irish and English heritage. Most notable for her playwriting, having been longlisted for The Royal Shakespeare Companies’ 37 plays. Latifa co-founded two thousand and one productions, a theatrical production company championing underrepresented, Gen Z creatives. Latifa will be taking her third play Conscience to The Cockpit this August. Latifa’s backstage credits include A Number at The Old Vic, The Lesson (touring production) by Icarus Theatre Collective and This is not a party at New Diorama Theatre and Camden People’s Theatre.