Housatonic — The Center for Peace Through Culture will host a performance of the play “Phoenix in the Holy Land,” written by artist JuPong Lin and directed by Charmaine Sutton, on Saturday, March 29, at 1:30 p.m.
Lin previously collaborated with artist Mona Shiber on the “Peace Birds Project” at the Center.
The play incorporates actual legal testimony, poetry, and quotes from activists in the war between Israel and Hamas, drawing from South Africa’s genocide case against Israel that has been presented to the International Court of Justice.
The play is set in three different locations: the International Court of Justice, a small town working for a ceasefire resolution, and a “poetry space.”
The play incorporates the poetry of many Palestinian poets, including Refaat Alareer, Mahmoud Darwish, Mosab Abu Toha, Solmaz Sharif, and others.
“The idea for the play was first sparked around January 2024 when I was at a residency at Godda College with Mona and we were launching the Peace Bird Project,” Lin said. “Right around that time, there was a group of famous artists and actors who recited the transcript of South Africa’s genocide case against Israel which was presented to the International Court of Justice. They videotaped themselves reading from this transcript, and I was so struck by these actors bringing their craft to illuminate this horrendous crime against humanity and the suffering of the Palestinian people. In just a matter of hours, these videos went viral.”
This was when Lin came up with the idea for the play, putting the language of some of the transcripts alongside poetry in order to convey experiences. “The legal language and poetic language are very different from each other, but on the other hand they are both a form of universal language,” Lin said. “Putting these two very different kinds of languages against each other felt very powerful.”
“JuPong read me a part of the play, and it took me to a place where I finally felt like I could have a voice and speak up about what is happening in Palestine,” Sutton said. “I’m originally from Trinidad, and in Trinidad, we are very outspoken people, not just using arts, but also sports.”
Sutton said that in the Caribbean Islands, people protested against South African Apartheid by not playing against teams who supported the regime. “This play resonated with me and gave me a way to voice my energy concerning what is happening,” Sutton said. “What is happening in Palestine is in such contradiction to a relationship with God and an awareness of God as a creator.”
“An important aspect of the play is, for me, a desire to honor all the religious and spiritual traditions of the world,” Lin said. “I think that, most importantly, this play shows that Palestinians are human. When you read the mainstream media, the suffering of the Palestinian people is not being reported. That’s one of the things that we can do in theatrical productions is uplift the humanity of everyone, not just the Palestinians.”
Tickets for the performance are on a sliding scale from $10 to $40. Other events will follow the March 29 performance, including a closing ceremony for the PeaceBirds project. Visit the Center’s website for more information.
