Dutch
Als het heden niet werkt, kunnen we de toekomst dan opnieuw uitvinden? In No Man’s Land verkent alaa minawi het niemandsland: een ruimte tussen werelden, grenzen en werkelijkheden. Reizend door Libanon, Egypte en Palestina zoekt hij naar een plek waar de verbeelding weer kan ademen.
In No Man’s Land nodigt alaa minawi het publiek uit om de mogelijkheden van deze tussenruimte te verkennen. De voorstelling is onderdeel van zijn serie rond Arab Futurism, een beweging die de toekomst opnieuw verbeeldt vanuit een heden dat niet langer werkt. Waar zijn bekroonde installatie The Liminal de fysieke beklemming van het leven tussen de muren opzocht, kiest minawi nu voor de poëtische en politieke openheid van het theater.
Samen met performer Wajdi Khalid reist minawi door de geschiedenissen van Libanon, Egypte en Palestina. Ze bewegen zich door een gebied dat van niemand is: het niemandsland. Hoe groter de spanning tussen twee werelden, hoe groter deze tussenruimte wordt. Voor minawi is dit niemandsland geen leegte, maar juist de plek waar de verbeelding weer kan ademen.
No Man’s Land is een indringend antwoord op de realiteit van vandaag. Een pleidooi om, juist wanneer het heden niet meer werkt, de ruimte op te zoeken waar een nieuwe toekomst kan ontstaan. In 2026 werd de voorstelling bekroond met de PSi Award for Outstanding Work on Critical Race and Performance Studies.
We are looking for a place
Neither on stage nor among the audience
Neither in the imagination nor in the pleasant reality we are living
Neither inside the body nor outside its peripheries
A place that is neither here nor there
Performed by Wajdi Khalid, alaa minawi
In No Man’s Land alaa minawi invites the audience to explore the potential of the space in between. The performance is part of his series on Arab Futurism, a movement that reimagines the future from a present that no longer functions. In No Man’s Land, minawi embraces the poetic and political openness of the theatre.
Joined by performer Wajdi Khalid, minawi travels through the histories of Lebanon, Egypt and Palestine. Together, they navigate a territory that belongs to no one: no man’s land. The greater the tension between two worlds, the larger this space becomes. For minawi, this no man’s land is not a void, but precisely the place where the imagination can breathe again.
No Man’s Land is a powerful response to today’s reality. It is a plea to seek out the spaces where a new future can emerge, especially when the present feels broken. In 2026, the performance was awarded the PSi Award for Outstanding Work on Critical Race and Performance Studies.
Background
No Man’s Land is part of alaa minawi’s series around Arab Futurism, a movement inspired by Afro Futurism. Alaa focussed in his research on the potential of reimagining the future taking into consideration the hyper reality we live in. "If this present is not working, can we re-imagine a future."
The series started with a performative installation The Liminal that premiered in Spring Utrecht 2025, where a group of Arab individuals decide to leave it all and live inside a wall between the pipes and the cables. The Liminal received a special jury mention for best immersive experience in IDFA 2024. It was nominated for the DDG award (Best Dutch Director Award) for best digital storytelling 2025.
No Man’s Land is part two of the series. Where alaa; who is from both Palestinian and Lebanese roots, and Wajdi; a Palestinian from Nablus, would bring their history and sarcasm to the table.
About the maker
alaa minawi is a Dutch-Lebanese-Palestinian artist based between Amsterdam and Beirut. Working across performance and installation, he explores themes of belonging, presence and absence, Arab Futurism, war, trauma and healing. His work often places the audience at the heart of the performance.
minawi studied Communication Arts at the Lebanese American University and Fine Arts at HKU. He currently teaches at HKU and is the founder and Program Director of the Beirut Summer School for Theater & Performance.
His work has received international recognition, including an IDFA Special Jury Mention for The Liminal (2024) and the Performance Studies International (PSi) Award for Outstanding Work on Critical Race and Performance Studies for No Man’s Land (2026).
Recognition & press
Award
PSi Award for Outstanding Work on Critical Race and Performance Studies (2026)
The jury praised No Man’s Land for its powerful exploration of war, displacement, kinship and relationships to land, highlighting its artistic excellence, ethical care and ability to use performance as a space for critical inquiry and social engagement.
In the press
L’Orient-Le Jour
“One of the most necessary performances of the moment,” dissolving the boundary between stage and audience until no one can remain unaffected.
Al Quds Al Arabi
An inventive and visually captivating performance in which alaa minawi “continues his theatrical experiments, shattering all monotony.”
Al Diffa Al Thalitha
A layered reflection on Palestine and displacement, with the stage becoming a powerful symbol of confinement, repetition and the inability to effect change.
Nidaa Al Watan
A performance in which the idea of no man’s land becomes both political and deeply personal, with the body expressing what words cannot.
Cultureelpers Bureau
No Man’s Land confronts audiences with how our actions, indifference and silence in Europe affect the present and future of Palestine.
