Between the River and the Sea

The complexity I have lived with all my life has led me to stand alone in my position. If I am already alone in this, why not also stand alone in front of an audience?”

Born in Haifa, Yousef Sweid is a Palestinian-Israeli actor, a person who grew up between two worlds and has always grappled with their complexity. In his play, Sweid explores his life between different cultures, narratives, and realities, different versions of the truth. He weaves personal anecdotes together with political reflection, from humorous stories about life in Berlin to memories of his childhood as an Arab child from a Christian family attending a Jewish kindergarten. He tries to understand how to find his way in a world in which he is always “in between.”

“Between the River and the Sea” is a heartfelt plea for “telling unheard stories” and for listening. An invitation to embrace complexity and experience the story of a life that cannot choose one side over another.

With: Yousef Sweid
Music: Thomas Moked Blum
Dramaturgy: Murat Dikenci
Dramaturgical support: Irina Szodruch
Lighting: Erich Schneider

A guest production from the Maxim Gorki Theater.