Books & Spoken Word
Ahmed Masoud
Palestinian writer Ahmed Masoud talks to Tom Sperlinger (University of Bristol) about identity, censorship and why art can be seen threatening.
Ahmed Masoud grew up in the Gaza Strip and moved to the U.K to complete postgraduate studies in English Literature. Since then he has finished a BA, an MA and a PhD research, a chapter of the latter has been published in Britain and the Muslim World: Historical Perspectives.
Masoud partly funded his PhD studies by dancing dabke. This led to the formation of a theatre & dance group, Al Zaytouna. The group became one of the leading dance groups in Europe with the aim of giving Western audiences the opportunity to experience Palestinian Culture through theatre, dance and music. The last production he wrote and directed with the company was Unto the Breach (a dance adaption of Shakespeare’s Henry V set in Palestine). The show premiered at the Arts Depot in London in 2012 and toured Slovenia, Germany and the UK throughout 2013 & 2014.
In 2014, Masoud was awarded an Arts Council grant to write and produce a play on the Syrian crisis entitled Walaa – Loyalty. Directed by Richard Shannon and designed by Clio Capeille , the play was produced at The New Diorama Theatre, London, in June 2014 and at St. Martin-in-the-Fields in November 2014. In 2015, he put on a daring production entitled The Shroud Maker at Amnesty International, UK which went on a very successful tour all over the UK to theatres and cities like Plymouth, Manchester, Liverpool, Nottingham.
To mark the 50th anniversary of the Israeli Occupation in Gaza, West Bank, Jerusalem and the Gollan Heights, he put on a production in partnership with Amnesty International UK in May 2017. Camouflage presented a collage of Palestinian lives in various places, focusing on young people and what really matters for them. The one-hour comedy received critical acclaim.
Last year his first sci-fi short story was adapted for WDR Radio Germany and was published in a new book called Palestine + 100 in July 2019
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