The horse of Jenin

The horse of Jenin

International player collective Troupe Courage makes theatre about people's ingenuity in their struggle to survive. Since October, Troupe Courage player Alaa Shehada's (Jenin,Palestine) completely turned upside down.
It is more urgent than ever that Alaa tells his survival story.

The horse is an Arabic symbol for freedom. This symbol keeps recurring in Alaa's life. In his hometown there is a metre-high statue of a horse. Representing resistance and resilience, it is the pride of Jenin. When an Israeli bulldozer removes the statue, Alaa wonders: Why? What happened to the horse? And did it then tell about the day Alaa tried to ride the horse with Ahmed? From fragments of memories, Alaa builds a new horse, augmented by a huge dose of humour and imagination. A hopeful solo performance where imagination means freedom.

About Troupe Courage
Collective Troupe Courage consists of a diverse group of actors and musicians from different countries, including the Netherlands, Palestine, the US, Lebanon and Iran. Troupe Courage is folk theatre: on proverbial life and death, they bring the energy of survival to the stage. Using only the body, masks and (live) music, they take the audience into a world of imagination in an empty space. Through their masks, they crawl into the archetypes we all know so well. The big boss, the shy kid, the eternal nag. It is madness, glorious failure, ingenuity, improvisation and interaction with the audience. Playfully, they break open complex subjects. Underdogs become heroes, powerful figures lose their shine and elderly people dance like children. Troupe Courage invites a different view of the world, with imagination as playful resistance to the status quo. Their aim is not to tear things down, but to offer hope. They hope for real change in the world. Theatre that is alive and kicking, moving and with the joy of acting.

“Deadly serious and enormous fun.” Di Trevis, Royal Shakespeare Company & Britain's National Theatre –About previous performance of Troupe Courage

About Alaa Shehada
Alaa Shehada (born 1991) is an actor and comedian from Jenin (West Bank). He graduated from ‘The Freedom Theatre’ in 2014. Since Troupe Courage held a workshop there in 2011, he immediately became a regular actor of the collective. Besides Troupe Courage, he works as a doctor clown for RedNoses International and is co-founder and director of ‘The Palestine Comedy Club’. He has performed on stages around the world, from the US to Europe, Africa, Asia, Australiaand has collaborated with renowned directors such as Amir Nizar Zubi,
Mark Thomas and Di Trevis. In 2018, he received the award for best performance at the Palestinian National Theatre Festival, received an award at the International Festival of Liberal Theatre in Jordan and received the title of best screenwriter for ‘London Jenin’ in 2019.

"My imagination became the freedom in my life" - Alaa Shehada