About the project
The Dramatic Arts Group was founded in 1970 by George Ibrahim as the only professional theater group performing in Arabic in Jerusalem. Also known as the Theater of Thorns, the company performed for several years at the El-Omariya School auditorium in the Old City’s Muslim Quarter and in other Arab neighborhoods. The group performed contemporary works for children and adults by Arab playwrights and adaptations of Western plays set in an Arab milieu. In 1986, the company took on a more experimental and educational approach, and became known as the Theater Workshop. In 1989, the company was renamed the Al-Kasaba Theater when it moved to its own premises in east Jerusalem in an effort to establish the first Palestinian drama school and to broaden the popularity and accessibility of theater to the city’s Arab sector. The Jerusalem Foundation has provided periodic support to the company for productions and educational activities. During the first Intifada in the early 1990s, the Al-Kasaba Theater was the only cultural institution that Intifada leaders allowed to remain open.
