A Land Without People By Brian Rotman 

Where: The Courtyard Theatre, Bowling Green Walk, 40 Pitfield Street, London N1 6EU 

When: 9 July – 1 August, 7:30pm (running Tuesday – Saturday after first week)  AfterWords – a free post-performance discussion with invited guests will take place on 16, 23, 30 July 

New play A Land Without People, by Brian Rotman, is a powerful and moving staging of the historical events that led up to the declaration of the State of Israel in May of 1948.  Its premiere, at London theatre The Courtyard, comes as the world marks seventy years since the end of World War Two and the liberation of the Nazi death camps.  

Moral horror at the Nazi camps and the desperate plight of the remaining European Jews – two-thirds of European Jews were exterminated by the Nazi regime – made the long-standing Zionist attempt to establish a Jewish homeland in Palestine a real possibility.  

Through meticulous research of British government documents, Rotman’s play reveals the violent events behind the Zionist overthrow of British rule in Palestine and the claiming of the land assigned to them by the United Nations. 

When the United Nations proposed dividing Palestine into Jewish and Arab territories, the Arabs rejected the plan, while the Jewish community in Palestine leapt on it. A wholesale clearing of the Arabs from the Jewish section, and the notorious Deir Yassin massacre, were to follow.   

About the author: Brian Rotman is a mathematician and writer. He was born in London’s East End. He is part of a growing minority of British Jews who believe that widespread political support for Israel and its policies should be re-examined. 

About Palindrome Productions: British-American theatre company Palindrome Productions launched in 2014 with the play The First Actress. Composed of a mother-daughter duo, it believes in making theatre histories for the future.  

A Land Without People will kick off the transatlantic company’s 2015 summer season. For more information, please visit http://www.palindromeproductions.org   

Cast 

Jules Brown 

Roy Khalil 

Tracey-Anne Liles 

Sifiso Mazibuko 

Elena Voce 

Creatives 

Director: Lesley Ferris 

Assistant director: Sophie McCartney 

Stage Manager: Rachel Darwood 

Set Designer: Brad Steinmetz 

Costume Designer: Emily Stuart 

Sound Designer: Katie Whitlock 

Lighting Designer: Alex Kyle-DiPietropaolo