With contributions from Professor Caroline Rooney (Professor of African and Middle Eastern Studies) and in association with the Global Uncertainties programme, the critically acclaimed Moving Theatre company premiered Omar El-Khairy’s The Keepers of Infinite Space at The Park Theatre in London on Wednesday 22 January.
The play, which will run at the Park Theatre until 16 February, explores how ‘since the Israeli occupation in 1967, Palestine has become a nation of prisons, with up to 40% of the male population detained under military orders’. This demanding and thought-provoking play presents one of the most significant on-going humanitarian crises of the 21st century. The writer, Omar El-Khairy, is co-founder of the international theatre and film collective Paper Tiger and Leverhulme Associate Playwright for 2013 at the Bush Theatre.
The play is part of Caroline’s ongoing research project ‘Imagining the Common Ground: Utopian Thinking and the Overcoming of Resentment and Distrust‘ which, funded by RCUK ‘Global Uncertainties’ program, has the strategic aim of addressing ‘security for all in a changing world’. The production has been described by WhatsOnStage as “an engulfing, immediate and powerful depiction of a man whose entire existence is crumbling before him” and by Everything Theatre as a “play full of pathos, rage and loss; riveting to watch.” See the Park Theatre website for further information including details on tickets.