Hand in hand with its teaching commitments, ASHTAR is also a professional acting ensemble who undertake to produce two productions per year. This year, 1998, we are continuing with our Forum Theatre serial production, Abu Shaker's Affairs '98 and in honour of two important milestones for Palestinian Theatre in 1998 our second production, due to tour in this country and abroad is Fluchtlingeshprache (Meditation of a Fugitive) by Bertolt Brecht. Chosen to celebrate 100 years of Brecht's life and contributions to Theatre and also to commemorate the 50th year of the Nakba - the forced emigration of Palestinians following the 1948 war. More information about both these productions can be found in the Hot Zone.

Between 1999 and 2000 our two international productions are also timed to coincide with important events or contemporary issues.

1999 - The Women of Sand and Myrrh by Hanan El-Shaykh, adapted for stage by Iman Aoun and Peter Braschler.

An all female cast of four characters, who lives cross somewhere in the desert. It is the story about the lives of four women from different social and cultural backgrounds whose meet in an unnamed Arab desert country. These four very different women, living somewhere in the Middle East, show us what it means to try to reach their own individual identity by expressing their aspirations, hopes and actions in a male dominated society.

2000 - The Great King adapted for stage by Mazen Sae'deh and Sameh Hijazi.

The Great King is based on a Cananite text discovered at the beginning of this century at Ras Shamra (the old Augarit Kingdom). It is a play that includes and exhibits important details and aspects of the rich Cananite mythology, a mythology that has enriched others but has been intentionally ignored or disclaimed , because of its paradoxes - within a long historical burglary - with Hebrew mythology. It is due to tour the region during the millennium celebrations, including the Bethlehem 2000 festival.