About Francois عن فرانسوا

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The play

What can we say? About Francois. We can say what he did. Theater. And also where he did it. Here in Jerusalem. And who he was, somehow. Artist, director, outcast, protagonist, sufferer, lover, and… narcissist. Or why the hell did he have to jump to his death from a high-rise building on October 1, 2011?

We meet in the shadow of his legacy—on his stage, the El Hakawati—to talk about him. And about us. Because that’s what he wanted.

The company

The Palestinian National Theater El Hakawati and suite42, Berlin, present a performative study of the life and work of Francois Abu Salem, the Palestinian theater artist in Jerusalem with Hungarian-French origins. In it many artists feature who co-founded the El-Hakawati Theatre and are leading the Palestinian theatres today.

Arabic, English, French, and German is spoken on stage.

A national and international tour is aimed for in difficult circumstances.

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Das Stück

Was können wir sagen? Über Francois. Wir können sagen, was er gemacht hat. Theater. Und auch wo er es gemacht hat. Hier in Jerusalem. Und wer er war, irgendwie. Künstler, Leiter, Ausgestoßener, Protagonist, Leidender, Liebhaber und … Narziss. Oder warum zum Teufel musste er am 1. Oktober 2011 von einem Hochhaus in den Tod springen?

Wir treffen uns im Schatten seines Erbes – auf seiner Bühne, dem El Hakawati – um über ihn zu sprechen. Und über uns. Weil er es wollte.

Die Kompanie

Das palästinensische Nationaltheater El Hakawati und suite42, Berlin, zeigen eine performative Studie über das Leben und Werk von Francois Abu Salem, dem palästinensischen Theaterkünstler in Jerusalem mit ungarisch-französischer Herkunft. Darin kommen viele Künstler:innen vor, die damals das Theater mitgründeten und heute die Palästinensischen Theater leiten.

Es wird Arabisch, Englisch, Französisch und Deutsch gesprochen.

Eine nationale und internationale Tour sind angestrebt in widrigen Umständen.

Background 

In a phase of research into the archive that was created from Francois’ materials by Amer Khalil and Najla Nakhlé-Cerruti, the company discovered the multitude of his achievements – 

imagining, founding and building the El Hakwati Theatre itself and with it the creating and telling stories at his chosen home, Palestine – but also touring it in Europe and the world. 

From the beginning, Amer Khalil emphasised that the work should be in the hands of the younger local and international artists today. That their position and work should be seen and they should be enabled to enter into those national and international encounters and conversations through art.