Who Are We?
Sparked by a rare friendship between two performers – one a Palestinian refugee the other an ex-Israeli Army officer – Conflict Relief uses comedy to explore conflict.
We are not a political group but a theatre collaboration that seeks to initiate a dialogue between divided communities. Through our shared experience we have learned that when we listen to eachother’s stories, we develop understanding and empathy, which then creates a strong bridge enabling honest dialogue.
Our Story
On a chilly London October night in 2006 a Palestinian, an Israeli and a Lebanese got together over a shared desire to create theatre that addressed the conflict in the Middle East from a comedic perspective. Over a hot cup of coffee and some muffins, Nour, Ofer and Jana united; three passionate performers with strong voices and an even stronger drive to highlight the absurdities of the region through comedy.
As the days grew colder and our ideas bolder, we continued the search to complete our group. One night in West London, we found our British-Jewish voice, Rebecca, a soft-spoken strawberry blond with a wicked sense of humor. Our group now began to take more shape, and the dynamic became more colourful than before. After many sleepless nights of hard, piercing debates and lots of fun, in September 2007 we gave birth to our first show ‘The Arab the Jew and the Chicken‘. As we received more and more encouragement from audience members about the importance of our message, our momentum increased and the four performers grew to become Conflict Relief.
We are lucky and honored to have shared our amazing voyage with many talented, creative and crazy people. Thank you all. Pssst you… Liked this story? Want to help us write the next chapter? Get in touch
Aims and Objectives
1)To explore the Middle East conflict with various theatrical forms in order to initiate dialogue between fractioned communities, highlighting similarities, embracing differences and celebrating diversity.
2)To promote positive interaction within and between communities through creative opportunities and projects, in particular with young people in areas with high cultural diversity.
3)To facilitate artistic links between artists both professional and amateur, from different cultural backgrounds, looking to collaborate in order to explore issues of culture and identity.
4)To find voices in divided communities interested in using arts to create dialogue around issues of culture and identity.
Conflict Relief is a not for profit limited company.
