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. And so over a hot cup of coffee and some muffins, Conflict Relief was born; a theatre group comprised of Nour, Ofer and Jana; three passionate performers with strong voices and an even stronger drive to highlight the absurdities of the region through comic relief.
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 colorful than before. We were left with one missing link however: the male Arab voice. And so our search for the perfect Arab Male actor in London pursued until Zein, A London-born and bred Lebanese male came along. As of January 2007, Conflict Relief was made up of Nour, Ofer, Jana, Rebecca and Zein. In July of that year, however, Zein decided to leave us to pursue his love of basket weaving and we once again were back to four. We performed our very first show at the Redbridge Drama Center in September 2007 to a wonderful and encouraging audience. This led to more performances in the London area in the fall, and our momentum increased as we received more and more encouragement from audience members about the importance of our message.
We are now excited to have found a comedically intense male actor, Adam, who comes to us with roots in both Libya and Ireland. We are now in prep for our three week run at the Courtyard Theatre in East London and very excited, to say the least. We are only just beginning...
Our Mission
Conflict Relief is The Arab and Israeli Theatre Collaboration that unites artists of Middle Eastern, Muslim and Jewish origin to explore the conflict through comedy. We are a theatrical group that comments on the perceptions and feelings of the Middle Eastern conflict through performance. The stage is our vessel that provides a platform whereby we can explore the cultural similarities and embrace the differences that exist between us.
GROUP MEMBERS:
Nour Alkawaja - Co-founder
Nour is part Palestinian part Canadian and has spent most of her life moving between the East and West. She arrived in London in 2002 to train as a physical theatre performer. Since then, Nour has written a one woman show and two other original theatrical plays. She has toured in North America, Middle East , Africa and Europe . She has also been workshop leading and teaching Clowning and Physical theatre. Nour now dedicates her time to Conflict Relief and directing.
Ofer Yatziv L.L.C.M (Hons) - Co-founder
Ofer arrived in London from Israel in August of 2002 where he worked as a professional dancer. After serving in the Israeli defence force, Ofer graduated from the `Bat-Dor` studio in Tel-Aviv and pursued his career as a dancer with companies like The Young Kibbutzit Ensemble and 'Carmon'. Later he established O&A dance company and choreographed for stage including Karmial International dance Festival and screen. Ofer is a two time winner of the Tel –Aviv city prize for youth dance groups. After graduating in 2005 from three year theatre training with The Courtyard Theatre Training Company, Ofer turned to directing, producing and teaching theatre. Ofer hopes Conflict Relief will inspire people to look at life in a different way.
Jana Zenadeen - Co-founder
Jana is a Lebanese-American actress, writer and current MA Applied Theatre student at the Central School of Speech and Drama. Jana trained at the Studio Theatre Acting Conservatory in Washington , D.C. and the British American Drama Academy in Oxford . In 2002 Jana moved to New York where she appeared in many plays, including Live! With Pascale & Chantal (co-writer), Love in Las Vegas (writer), independent films and a role on hit TV series Law & Order. Jana is committed to creative projects that bring a positive awareness and understanding of the Arab culture through performance art, writing and film. Conflict Relief reaffirms her faith in theatre to change the way we see the world, and each other.
Rebecca Gross - Co-founder
Rebecca is a British Jew, she trained on the Acting course at Central School of Speech and Drama and graduated in 2006. Theatre includes: 'Charity Wars', The Pleasance; 'Still Love', Hampstead Theatre; and 'Techniques of Breathing in an Airlocked Space', Old Red Lion. Commercials include 'Bonaqua' and 'Altoids'. She has also worked for BBC Radio, and was featured in a BBC television promo for 'The Restaurant'. She feels honoured to be working collaboratively with Conflict Relief and is enjoying the creative freedom this allows her, to send a positive message and to make people laugh.
Adam Dahrouge - Actor, Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Bio coming soon!
http://www.uk.castingcallpro.com/adam.dahrouge
Margaret E. Hall - Stage Manager
Margaret comes to London from New York where she has been working for several years as both Director and Stage Manager. Work includes; The Strawberry One Act Festival and the Sam French Playwright Festival. Margaret has also worked professionally as an Equity Stage Manager in the U.S. with Stamford Theatre Works. Her skills and training have taken her to Austria , Russia , England and Romania . Margaret holds a BA in Theatre Arts from SUNY New Paltz, and is obtaining her MFA in Theatre Directing at East 15 Acting School, University of Essex .
PAST COLLABORATORS:
Adam Elabdaly - Actor (March 2008)
Half Irish and half Libyan, Adam was brought up in Ireland from the age of four after moving from Libya. He performed in many plays and musicals both in the Irish countryside and in Dublin. Adam completed a BA Hons degree in TV and Film Production in Dublin, and was a member of Ireland's well known Musical society The Rathmines and Rathgar musical society performing in the National Concert hall in 2003. Adam has been in London since 2005 and graduated from The Academy of Live and Recorded Arts in 2007 where he trained professionally as an actor and has been working with different artists and directors ever since.
Zein Ja'far - Creative Collaborator (2007)
Zein is a Lebanese Londoner who was brought up on the mean streets of (Middle) East Acton, West London. He is currently studying for his MA in Near & Middle East Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies and is also the President of the SOAS Drama Society. Previous work as an actor has included Weiskopf in Ghetto (Sobel), Levine in Glengarry Glen Ross (Mamet), Petey in The Birthday Party (Pinter) and H.C. in the European Premiere of 110 in the Shade (Schmidt & Jones.) Zein hopes that through a combination of hip hop, comedy and his mother’s homous, people from both sides of the conflict can be brought closer together.
