Ghassan Aflak

No Man’s Land – الأرض الحرام

Name: No Man’s Land – الأرض الحرام — alaa minawi
Start: 2026-10-07T20:15:00+02:00
Location: TR25 Schouwburg

alaa minawi

wo 7 okt 20:15

If the present is broken, can we reimagine the future?

7 okt

20:15

TR25 Schouwburg, Rotterdam

Kleine Zaal

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In No Man’s Land, alaa minawi explores the space between worlds, borders and realities. Traveling through Lebanon, Egypt and Palestine, he enters a territory that belongs to no one, yet holds the possibility for something new. A place where the imagination can breathe again.

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

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.

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).

Duration: 75 minutes
Language: English and Arabic, with English surtitles

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Team

director and writer alaa minawi performers Wajdi Khalid, alaa minawi assistant director and production manager Georges Abboud technical director Mohammad Farhat, Antonella Rizk, Jorn Kortooms stage manager Mirvat Salhab, Tarek Majzoub text advisor Lamia Abi Azar costumes props sourcing and innovation Wissy Il Bissy sound designer Jawad Chaaban poster designer Chadi Aoun scenography and light designer alaa minawi videos documentation and trailers Bachar Khattar assistant scenographer Hassan Mourad tehnician Thiadmer Van Galen vocal consultant Oussama Abdelfattah singers Carole Abboud, Omar Daou, Dana Mkhayel music Hawi El Fadayel - Areej Ensemble / Neblina - Ziad Moukarzel / Love In The Time of Hatred - Tamer Karawan / Once Upon a Time (Take two) - Evgeny Grinko special thanks Roula Melki, Marielise Aad, Josyane Bolous, Nidal Al Achcar, Issam Bou Khaled, Abdo Nawwar, Aline Gmayel, Minister of Culture Ghassan Salameh, Jalal Lawati, Ahmed El Attar, Ahmad Al Khatib, Sarah Nohra, Ibrahim Nehme, Hussein Baydoun, Marijn Lems, Liesje Knobel, Aart van Bolhuis, Grezgors Riske, Katerina Bakatsaki, Hilde Guri Bohlin, Petra Serhal, Karim Dakroub, Ahlam Dirani, Mervat El Yafi, Youmna Kambris, Roy Sfeir, Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, Beirut Art Center, Dar El Nimer for Arts and Culture this project is supported by Ibsen Scope, Spring Utrecht, Cultural Resource, Houna Center, Het Huis Utrecht, Hammana Artist House, Dar El Nimer, Amalgam, Le Monnot Theater