Konflikten

"Where conflict reigns, the first victim is the truth. We live in a conflict culture of ignorance and denial, a culture that does not value the truth. We must break this culture of ignorance."- Dr. Mohammad Dajani (Palestinian professor at Al Quds University, Jerusalem).

In a time of increasingly polarized portrayals of "us" and "them" from leading politicians, the media and in the many echo chambers of the internet, it is more important than ever to try to understand the complexity of the world around us. Torstein Bjørklund realized one day that everything he believed about Israel and Palestine was based on one party's propaganda.
That became the starting point for Konflikten.

The conflict is a monologue about contradictions and hatred - and about attempts at understanding and reconciliation. The performance tells the story of the historical background to the Middle East conflict and the current situation in Israel/Palestine from two diametrically opposed points of view. Through the stories of people from both the West Bank and Israel, our stereotypical perceptions of the players in this long-standing and seemingly unsolvable conflict are nuanced. The performance provides an insight into how the conflict is perceived by the people affected by it on a daily basis, and how they view the future of the region.

The text for Konflikten is written by Torstein Bjørklund and Kristine Klubben, and is based on 37 interviews conducted in connection with two trips to Palestine and Israel. Bjørklund and Klubben sometimes disagree strongly in their perceptions of the issues surrounding this conflict. This has laid the foundation for a text with many, and at times extreme, contradictions.
Director Mads Sjøgård Pettersen has adapted the text and balanced the voices of the two playwrights against each other.

Supported by Arts Council Norway, Fritt Ord, Dramatikkens Hus and Skuespillerforbundet