Below is a draft of an open letter from theatre makers in Wales relating to the recent attack on Freedom Theatre in the Jenin refugee camp, where our colleague Jacob Gough is general manager. Please feel free to add your signature through the comment box below, and/or to comment on the draft. The goal is to send this off by the end of next week to key Welsh and UK newspapers, the Welsh Minister for Heritage, and the Israeli Embassy in London. This is a small gesture of solidarity on our part, written in a spirit of support and hope. John

Open Letter from the Theatre Makers of Wales

We, the theatre makers of Wales, deplore the recent attacks in Jenin on The Freedom Theatre, its people and property. Freedom Theatre is a beacon for artistic expression and cultural co-operation, offering children and young adults in the Jenin area a safe space in which they are free to express themselves, to explore their creativity and emotions. The theatre has the following admirable goals:

 - To raise the quality of performing arts and cinema in the area.

 - To offer a space in which children and youth can act, create and express themselves freely, imagining new realities and challenging existing social and cultural barriers.

 - To empower the young generation to use the arts to promote positive change in their community.

 - To break the cultural isolation that separates Jenin from the wider Palestinian and global communities.

Sadly, it is reliably reported that in the past week, Israeli soldiers attacked the theatre, and arrested staff members.

Unless initiatives such as Freedom Theatre are nourished and supported, there can be little prospect for wider understanding and peace. We call on the Israeli government to investigate and effect an immediate end to these attacks. We call on our fellow artists in Israel and beyond to support The Freedom Theatre as an inspiring source of cultural understanding and artistic hope.

Signed

John McGrath, Artistic Director, National Theatre Wales

Peter Cox, MBE, writer

Greg Cullen, writer and director

Terry Victor, writer and performer

Rebecca Gould, director

Meredydd Barker,writer

Kaite O’Reilly, writer

Abdul Shakek, Creative Associate, National Theatre Wales

Carys Shannon, writer and producer

Carmen Medway-Stephens, writer and director

Tim Price, writer

Bridget Keehan, director

Guy O’Donnell, designer

Kath Chandler, writer

Chris Kinsey, writer

Tom Beardshaw, media artist

Sam Burns, writer

Alun Howell, writer

Sam Boardman-Jacobs, choreographer

Lisa Perry, writer

Alan Harris, writer

Tom Wentworth, writer

Brad Birch, writer

Ian Staples, writer

Kit Lambert, writer