Meet the Artists
Mouna Hawa
Artist
Hawa Is a Palestinian actress and singer, located in Haifa. She graduated from the Samuel Rubin Music Conservatory, and the Beit-Zvi Academy of High Performing Arts. She starred in the TV series ‘Mouna’, created by Mira Awad, and won the award of ‘Best Actress’ at the Palestinian theater festival for her role playing the famous singer Asmahan, in “Who Killed Asmahan?”, written and directed by Nizar Zo’abi. She, moreover, Won the Highest Academy Award for “Best Supporting Actress” for her role as “Laila” in “Bar-Bahar” (In Between), written and directed by Maysalon Hammoud.
Mouna, in addition to the above, starred in the movie “Between Heaven and Earth”, written and directed by Najwa Najjar, the movie “Gaza weekend” written and directed by Basel Khalil, and acted in various theater plays such as The king and I, Sounds of Music, Peter and the Wolf, Saied Darweesh, The Emperor’s New Clothes, and many more, in addition to starring in Dunia and Dandan’s TV show of children’s content.
Alaa Abu Gharbieh
Artist
Abu Gharbieh was born in Jerusalem in 1991 and graduated from the Palestinian National Theater, El Hakawati, in Jerusalem, 2008.
Since 2012, he started to work as a professional actor, working with both local and international theaters.
Abu Gharbieh participated in many theatrical works with a number of Palestinian directors and actors such as: Hhalifa Natour, A’mer Heleihel, Kamel El Basha, Nabeel El Raae, Gabriele Vacis, Lydia Ziemke, Zoe Lafferty, and Amir Nizar Zuabi.
Abu Gharbieh has also worked with the French Egyptian director “Adel Hakim” in the plays Roses and Jasmine, and Antigone, performing more than 120 shows around Europe, which was a big success for the theater company in general.
Since 2014, and until current days, Abu Gharbieh finished more than 500h of trainings, clowning in general and clowning in hospitals.
Alaa’s goal is to keep the theater and art work active among all groups of people, especially the youth, as he believes it is very important to consider the theatre as a way of communication between all the world’s people.
Samar Haddad King
Artist
Artistic/Founding Director of Yaa Samar! Dance Theatre (YSDT), graduated cum laude in choreography from the Ailey/Fordham BFA program under the tutelage of Kazuko Hirabayashi. With YSDT, King has created over 30 original works which have been performed in 10 countries across 4 continents. Her awards and commissions include: Hubbard Street 2 – National Choreography Competition; Palest’In & OUT Festival (Paris, France) – Prix des Jeunes Créateurs Palestiniens pour la Diversité des Expressions Artistiques award; and the Palestinian Museum (Palestine) among others. In 2018 King was awarded La Fabrique Chaillot residency at Chaillot – Théâtre national de la Danse (Paris, France) for the development of Last Ward. King frequently collaborates on theatrical and musical theater productions, including the upcoming production of We Live in Cairo (American Repertory Theater, Boston, Massachusetts). She regularly lectures on her work at institutions including TanzKongress (Hanover, Germany), University of Virginia (Charlottesville, Virginia), and Columbia University Center for Palestine Studies (New York, New York), and co-authored a chapter on dance in the Arab World with Sandra Noeth for the 2nd edition of Contemporary Choreography (Routledge, January 2018). She is a 2019/20 Fellow at the Center for Ballet and the Arts at NYU.
Yasmeen Hammar
Artist
Hammar is a lawyer and actress whose artistic journey started in 2005. She studied at the Qasabeh Academy for Theatre and Arts, and participated in many theatre and drama works.
Hammar worked with the National Palestinian Theatre, EL Hakawati, A’shtar Theatre, I’nad Theatre, and Ivry Theatre in France. She participated in many children theatre works such as “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”, “Ghandoura”, The Matches Seller”, “The Carpet”, and many other works for the adult audience such as “Martin Luther King”, “Antigona”, “Rose and Jasmine”, “Moulinex”, “John Six” (a stand-up comedy), “The Price of a Bracelet”, “Friday”, “A Bridge to Forever”, and “Who is the Infertile?”.
Yasmeen Shalaldeh
Artist
Shalaldeh is an actress who was born in Jerusalem in 1992, and who was graduated from the Drama Academy in 2013. She worked at many local and international theatres, and her work resulted in productions such “The Tale of a Rose” with the El Hakawati Theatre, “A Journey of Satisfaction” with A’shtar Theatre, and “She lives” with the Al Hara Theatre, and “Next to Normal Palestinian Untold Story” with Storytelling Center, Amsterdam, and many other works.
Shaladeh joined the Red Noses Institute as a medical clown at hospitals.
Nidal Al Ju’beh
Artist
Al Ju’beh is currently 33 years old. He is a Palestinian actor who specialized in theatre studies at The School of Theatre in 2008 at the El Hakawati, which marked his start as an actor at the Palestinian and international theatre. He started an acting career that escalated all the way to professionalism. His acting career includes works such as “Hamlet”, “Martin Luther King”, “Tomorrow works as well”, “Hish, it worked!”, “Hamlet in Jerusalem”, and “Who Killed Asmahan?”, in addition to many other plays, workshops, and cultural evenings, which he adds to his work as a medical clown at the Red Noses Institute.
Milad Qneibi
Artist
Qneibi is a Palestinian actor who specialized in acting at the Drama Academy in Ramallah. He participated in many various theatrical works that touched upon different topics, issues, and content from local and international publications, working with almost all Palestinian theatres, Besides his participation in local and international festivals, Qneibi received the Best Cohesive Theatrical Work award for the monodrama “Alive”, and the Best Actor award for his role in “North South Middle” play.
Muna Basha
Artist
Basha was born in 1996 to an artistic family who implanted the love of art in the heart of its daughter at an early age. She was exposed to acting, dancing, and singing, and grew a passion towards these forms of arts.
Basha started her career at the age of 9 at El Hakawati Theatre (in 2005) by participating in the Play “The Pigeons Flew”, which was her set off to participate in many other workshops and theatre works, before she finally graduated from the El Hakwati Theatre’s Summer School in 2012.
Basha participated in many theatre plays such as “On Hamlet’s Steps”, “The House of Bernarda Alba”, “The Guardian of the Tales”, and “The Philosophic Shoe Shiner”. She also participated in films and series such as “Salma and Sari”, the short film “Eid”, and another film entitled “Between Earth and Heaven”.
Basha believes in art, and in its message, and that art forms the base of individuals’ and societies’ culture and identity. She feels grateful to be the daughter of the National Palestinian Theatre, El Hakawati, which contributed to her artistic and personal growth.
Mariam Basha
Artist
Basha is a Palestinian actress from Jerusalem who started her career with the Palestinian National Theatre in 2005, and joined the Theatre’s Summer School (TAM) in 2011.
She participated in many art projects with many Palestinian theatres, such as A’shtar, Al Hara, and Al Huriyyeh. She also participated in cinema works, and made an appearance at the movie “Screwdriver” by Bassam Jerbawi, “The Gift” by Farah Nabilsi, and “The Daughters of AbdelRahman” by Zaid Abu Hamdan.
Basha now works at the Red Noses International Organization, and is a member of the comedy club at the Al Huriyyeh Theatre in Jenine.
Mohammad Basha
Artist
Basha is an artist and theatre actor who was born in Jerusalem and studied theatre arts at the School of The National Palestinian Theatre – El Hakawati – in 2008. He participated in many theatre productions with a number of Palestinian and international theatres, and worked with many troops inside Palestine. He also participated in many theatre works such as “The Lanterns of the King of Golan”, “Who Killed Asmahan?”, and “Green Sault”, and many other plays and workshops.
Maya AbulHayyat
Artist
AbulHayyat is a Palestinian author and poet who was born in Beirut. She published two poetic collections, and a number of children’s stories. She works as a tale teller, actress, translator, and author. She presented “Pinocchio” play for children, and “Bab Al A’moud” series, “Love and Theft and Other Problems” film, and “Salma and Sari” series, and a number of other short films.
Kamel Al Basha
Artist
AL Basha is a Palestinian actor, director and author who was born in Jerusalem in 1962, and who is the director of the Quds Arts Institute since 2012. He worked as the executive director of the El Hakawati Theatre between 2008 and 2011.
Al Basha graduated from the High Conservatory of Fine Arts in Jerusalem in 1991, majoring in acting and direction. He directed 30 theatre works of which “Hamlet”, “The Ghosts”, “King Lear”, “Happy Woman”, and “Out of Swarm” were the most prominent.
He, moreover, took acting roles in 31 plays such as “Al Zeer Salem”, “The Stolen Shirt”, “The Insomnia of Sleeping Beauty”, “The Case of X”, “Antigona”, “Rose and Jasmine”, and “Zone 6”.
Al Basha finally acted in many films and TV series of which “Case #23” is the most prominent.
Al Basha translated 7 plays from English such as “Yours Sincerely” and “The Paths of Martin Luther King”. He also authored 18 plays such as “Half a Bag of Bullets”, “Hdaidoun and the Ogress”, “The Cursed Land”, “The Key” and “The Carpet”. He participated in many Arab and international cinematic and theatre festivals as an actor, director, instructor, trainer, and judge.
Below are some websites that include critical articles, photos, and videos, of some of Al Basha’s works.
http://uk.youtube.com/kamelelbasha
https://www.facebook.com/kamelelbasha1/
A’amer Hleileh
Artist
Hleihel is a Palestinian writer and director who is a resident of the city of Heifa. He wrote and acted in many theatre plays, such as “Al Hoteh”, and “The Karmel Owner”, both of his own writing, “The Lanterns of the King of the Golan”, which he authored upon the novel by Ibrahim Nasrallah, the “Al Mshakhasatty”, which he co-authored with Alaa’ Hleihel and Firas al Khateeb, and “Greta and the Sea”, which was written and directed by Ameer Nizar Zu’bi. In addition to the above, Al Bou authored and acted the “Taha” monodrama in its both versions in English and Arabic, which received the “Best Asian Act” reward at Edinburgh Festival 2017, acted Caliban at Shakespeare’s “The Storm” at the Royal Shakespeare Crew Theatre, in addition to his participation in “Goat” at the Royal Courte Theatre, England, “The Servant of the Two Masters” playing Trovaldinho, “The Virgin and the Death” playing Dr. Roberto Miranda, “Ith Qala Yousof” playing Yousof, “The Settlement of Punishment”, playing the soldier, and “Diab”, playing Diab, which was the play for which he received the Best Actor Reward at a Theatre Festival in 2005, and “Gilgamesh Did Not Die”, which was directed by Françoise Abu Salem, and where Hleihel played Ankido, and other plays.
Hleihel, moreover, made an appearance at multiple films such as “Tel Aviv on Fire”, “Personal Matters”, “Oh, Flying Bird”, “The Remaining Time”, “America”, “Without a Cellphone”, and “Paradise Now”, which received a Golden Globe Prize. He also directed many other artistic works such as “The Story and about it”, “Breaking News”, “Looking for a Dream”, “Thank You”, “Prayer” (by video), “Al Taghreebeh (Alienation)”, “Msayfeen”, and “Love in a Cloud”.
Shibli Al Bau
Artist
Al Bau (29 years) is Palestinian actor and theatre trainer who graduated from the Theatre and Drama Academy in Ramallah in 2014. He worked at many local and Arab theatres, and participated in many local, Arab, and international Festivals, such as the festival of Edinburgh in Scotland.
He was named Best Actor at the International Free-Theatre festival in Jordan in its 14th round, and participated in many artistic workshops such as the theatrical direction workshop by Al Hara theatre in Bethlehem, which was run for two years.
Al Bou worked as a drama teacher in schools and numerous cultural institutions and social centers. In 2017, he joined the international institution, Red Noses, as a medical clown working in hospitals and elderly people’s shelter houses.
Shadi Majlaton
Artist
Majlaton is a fashion designer who graduated from the department of fashion and jewelry design at Betslel in 2017. His designs are inspired by the city of Jerusalem, and the social influence on humans.
Through his designs of clothes, bags, and other fashion, Majlaton exposes a new reality that suits the individual movement of each person and their looks among people, using his fashion as means to elaborate on each individual’s reality and independence in the society.
Of Majlaton’s achievements, we mention his presence at the Jerusalem Fashion Week for two years in a raw, where he presented his bag collection, and his design of the Bauhaus’s Hundred Years Ceremony in Germany. Majlaton also received the prize of Most Influential Designer at the Tokyo Desigart in 2019, and the Leader of Fashion Industry Certificate from the American Embassy.
Reem Talhami
Artist
A Palestinian Artist, majorly involved in the Palestinian cultural performing arts as a singer and actress. Reem has several music/songs releases, both locally and internationally, in addition to albums and singles, as well as partnerships.
The essence of Reem’s works mainly revolves around the Palestinian cause and Palestinian people as people under occupation. Through her art, Reem speaks loud about Injustice, hopes, sorrows and freedom seeking as parts of the Palestinian dream for freedom and salvation.
Reem took part in several theater works, such as: Jidariyyah, Blood Wedding, Half Sack of Bullets, Khail Tayha, Kalila wa Dimna , Green Salt, and others.
Razan Al Ju’beh
Artist
Al Ju’beh is a lawyer, and actress, and a puppet artist who specialized in theatre at the TAM Theatre School. She participated in many plays and theatrical activities such as puppet moving workshops at Sesame Street, “The Game of Colours” play, and “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” play.
Raja’ee Sandouka
Artist
Sandouka was born in Jerusalem in 1962. In 1987, she started her career at the theatre of the Employees’ Club and the Jerusalemite A’mal Folklore Group. She participated in many plays for children and adults with the El Hakawati Theatre, Sanabel Theatre, and puppets’ theatre Sesame Street (five chapters). She participated in many workshops for puppets’ making and moving, and in many local and international festivals, and acted in many films and series.
Ra’eda Ghazaleh
Artist
Ghazaleh is a director and theatre actress who is also a founder of “I’nad” theatre and “Al Hara” theatre in Beit Jala. She was the executive director of the “Al Hara” theatre until 2016. She directed and acted in many plays in Europe, America, and Palestine.
Ghazaleh wrote and directed many plays of which “The Tale of a Rose” was her recent, which she also co-wrote with the American author Mathew Spankler (which is originally a novel by author Hanan Al Sheikh) that was produced by the EL Hakawati Theatre. In addition to the above, Ghazaleh directed the play “Jihan’s Smile” which was produced by the “AL Hara” theatre, as well as “The Insect”, “A Womb”, “The Sense of Senses”, and “Do you Still Love Me”. She acted in the play “Stuff Happens” by the British author David Hiere which was produced by the National British Theatre in London. Her last acting role was at the play “Other Places”, produced by the “AL Khashabeh” theatre. In 2005, she directed the TV series entitled “Jokes and Seriousness”.
Some of Ghazaleh’s plays won different prizes, such as “Until When”, and “The Matches Seller” produced by I’nad theatre, and “The Nostalgia of the Sea” and “Confront, but?” produced by The Sweedish Theatre and the “AL Hara” theatre.
Ghazaleh obtained her master’s degree in theatrical direction from the “Drama and Central School of Speech” in London, where she also worked with the Royal British Theatre and the Royal Courte Theatre.
Khawla Ibrahim
Artist
Khawla Ibraheem is a Syrian Palestinian theatre artist who was born and raised in Majdal Shams, the occupied Golan Heights, and is Currently based in the city of Haifa.
In 2004, at the age of 13, a group for youngsters including Khawla, led by the Syrian writer Mutaz Abu Saleh and the Palestinian actor Ehab Salami, started a small theatre in the village named “O’yoon” (eyes).
Ibrahim, later on, pursued her studies in acting at Haifa university, graduating with an honour degree. After graduation, Ibrahim started working as an actress with all theatres in Palestine, gaining wide recognition as an actress.
Khawla took part in many theatrical works, of which we mention the following: A Parallel timeline by Bashar Murkus, Servant of two Masters by Carlo Goldoni, The Bride and the Butterfly Hunter by Nisim Aloni, Winter Funeral by Hanoch Levin, Sarita by Maria Irene Frone, and recently, The Publisher by Ameer Hlehel.
In 2017, after few years of work as a professional actress, Ibrahim started her career as a writer and director at the Palestinian National Theatre, after her first project was awarded the Qattan foundation prize and AFAC prize of Best Art Performance.
- Today, Ibrahim is considered a regular member in several theatres within Palestine, such as The National Palestinian theatre in Jerusalem and The Freedom Theatre in Jenin Camp, where she created many shows as a writer and a director, such as:
- “The Story Keeper”, A musical for all the family with an African twist (by The National Theatre).
- “Soon to be gone” a show that tells the story of the Druze Syrian community in the occupied Golan heights (by The National Theatre).
- “London-Jenin” a comedy based on true stories from the camp, of which Ibrahim was awarded Best Directing and Writing of a Play at the National Palestinian Theatre Festival 2019 (by The Freedom Theatre).
In 2019, Ibrahim took part in the Sundance theatre lab residency as a writer and director.
In January 2020, Ibrahim joined the MacDowell family as a fellow artist after her residency in the United States and became a Part of “ISO: International Super Objective Theatre” of the U.T.E in 2015.
Iyhab Zahdeh
Artist
Zahdeh is a director and theatre artist from Hebron, Palestine. He obtained a high diploma in acting from the special training programme of the Dutch Palestinian Theatre day (1997-2001), and received a high diploma in a complementary study entitled “Drama and its Effect on Education” from the university of Gdańsk in Poland, in 2006.
Zahdeh acted in many plays before local and international audiences. He participated in many workshops and trainings with many teachers from international theatres regarding different acting topics and theatrical direction both locally and internationally in Netherlands, Poland, Belgium, Germany, Japan, France, Austria, and UK. Zahdeh wrote, prepared, and directed many international plays, and received the First Prize of the Abstract Theatre in Italy, Milano, in 2013 for his play “3 in 1”. Zahdeh received, moreover, the prize of his highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan Ben Mohammad Al Qasimi entitled “The Best Arabic Theatrical Show” for his play “A Stray Horse” on the 7th round of the festival in Rabat, Morocco, in 2015. Last but not least, he won the prize of Best Direction and Best Cohesive Work, in addition to other prizes at the Theatre Without Production’s 10th round in 2019, also for his play “3 in 1”.
Zahdeh is a member of the Network of the Palestinian Performing Arts, and a member of the High Committee of the Palestinian Festival of National Theatre on its second round in 2019. Zahdeh is also a member of the judgement committee of the Arabic Theatre on its second round in Jordan, 2020.
Zahdeh now works at “Na’am” Theatre, of which he helped founding in 2008 in Hebron.
Iman O’wn
Artist
O’wn is the artistic director of the theatre of A’shtar. She is an actress, a director, and a theatre trainer. She started her theatrical journey with the troop of El Hakawati in 1984, and she later contributed to the founding of A’shtar Theatre in 1991. O’wn received many prizes and honouring in Palestine and in other Arab and foreign countries.
O’wn participated in numerous local and international plays, TV series, and films, and represented Palestine in many theatrical Arab and international theatre festivals. O’wn initiated multiple international projects such as “Gazan Monologues” in 2010, and “Syrian Monologues” in 2015, and she was Palestine’s coordinator at the International Campaign to Defend Women entitled “A Billion Who Rise” between 2014 and 2016.
O’wn presented a large collection of theatrical works that discuss and defend women’s and marginalized groups’ rights in Palestine, in addition to her work as an international trainer for The Theatre of The Oppressed. She now works as a theatre trainer for different groups around the world, and she is also a social activist and a board member at many cultural institutions.
Adeeb Al Safadi
Artist
Safadi Was born in the occupied Golan Heights with an undefined nationality. After high school, he decided to pursue his studies in Syria. This was possible due to an existing agreement between Syria and Israel, mediated by the United Nations, allowing a special exception for students to go back and forth to Syria for study purposes only. After the completion of his studies, he decided to stay in Syria and pursue his dream to work there as an actor.
In 2011 the revolution in Syria started, and Safadi stood in support therewith ever since its start. In 2012, Safadi’s political opinions lead to forcefully exiling him after he was to choose between returning to the Golan Heights or accepting prison.
Upon his return to the Golan Heights, The Drama Academy in Ramallah offered Safadi a position there as a teacher which he pursued until 2016. Since his return from Syria, Safadi participated in many projects in theater, cinema, and TV series, both in leading and supporting roles, and he is now working hard to pursue his career as an actor in Palestine, hoping to reach greater goals.
Ahmad Dari
Artist
A Palestinian artist from the city of Jerusalem. He was born in 1964, and went to primary school until high school in the city of Damascus, Syria, which influenced his relationship with art to be strongly affected by the Islamic art, and the Arabic writing in particular, for which he grew a strong passion. He participated in and organized many personal and collective exhibitions inside and outside France, in addition to running numerous Arabic Writing workshops for children and adults in many cultural centers, festivals, libraries, and creative art centers in France and Europe.
Dari has many publications in the field of Arabic writing with a number of French publishing houses. He contributed to many artistic works in the field of Arabic writing, such as designing numerous posters and logos for French, Arab, and Palestinian institutions and museums, including the Mahmoud Darwish Museum in Ramallah.