Announcing the 1st place plays - Intercultural Remote Theatre Competition 2023

'The Screen' was written by Nick Bilbrough. This version was acted remotely by Laila Naser and Sama Fayyad from Beit Hanoun Elm. Co- ed D school, Gaza, Palestine and Max Graumann, Zehra Guzel, and Mohammed Taha Moadeli from Fürst Johann Moritz Gymnasium School in Germany. It was directed remotely by their teachers Hanaa Mansour in Palestine and Connie (Germany).

A comment from one of the judges:

“The start was excellent! The background effects were innovative and effective; the choice of music was perfect and the performances were well synchronised. There was a definite build in suspense; the acting showed a depth of emotion and was both captivating and believable. Speech clarity was good throughout. I liked the contrast with the news scenes which were light and bright; the news readers were professional - recounting the news events factually, which was starkly different to the fear and confusion emanating from the actors in the dark, shadowy screens”

'Ikkyu and the Sweets' was written by David Heathfield. This version was acted remotely by Yara Al Sabaa and Ghazal Naseer in Gaza, Palestine and Mia Larsen and Victoria Brunoldi in Argentina. It was directed remotely by their teachers - Rinan (Palestine) and Tere (Argentina).

A comment from one of the judges

“I loved the start – like watching an old silent-movie, and beautiful, enthusiastic acting!  The ‘pupils’ seemed very genuine and you could see that they were good friends, and the ‘teacher’ was great, too – strict, but very human right from the outset!. Having a space, bottom-left, for the ‘missing pupil’ gave a sense of drama, and when Ikkyu arrived, she was great as a ‘naughty student’ – I particularly like the rolling of the eyes!  The acting was really exceptional”

'The Well' was written by Amal Mukheirez. This version was acted remotely by Moawad Al Baba and Saleh Al Khaldy from Burej Prep B boys school, Gaza, Palestine and Anika Jovanovic in Serbia. It was directed remotely by their teachers - Mohammed Hlayyel (Palestine) and Irina Spasojevic (Serbia).

A comment from one of the judges:

“Excellent theatre techniques, great use of zoom, costumes and background. The music at the beginning was impressive and it set the tone for the scene. The use of zoom was creative, especially in showing the girl in the well and the two boys looking down at her. The presentation was very engaging. The performance shows an understanding and insight to character and scene”

'The Duty of the Host' was written by Scott Thornbury. This version was acted by Huda Saadat and Ilan Saadat in Gaza, Palestine and by Almas Saleem, Eshal Amir, and Eshaal Adeel from SLS Montessori, High School and College in Pakistan. It was directed by their teachers - Eisha Saif( Palestine) and Madeeha Manzur Sultan (Pakistan).

A comment from one of the judges:

“This performance took us on a beautiful, magical journey. I think children all over the world would love to watch this. The backdrop was innovative, stretching across 3 screens, making the separate locations come together as one; the props and costumes were effective both visually and the way in which they were used. There was 100% commitment from all the actors; everyone remained in character for the duration of the performance. Each actor demonstrated emotion both vocally, facially and in their whole bodies - making them interesting to watch”