phoenix in the holyland

Phoenix in the Holy Land is a new play by JuPong Lin that was partially inspired by The PeaceBirds Project. The play that links the international fight against genocide with local activism for ceasefire in Gaza. The story arc follows the struggles of three ceasefire activists involved in a small town’s fight against the assault on Gazan life and weaves their story together with Palestinian poetry and poetry in solidarity, as well as the most vivid and incriminating excerpts from the transcripts of South Africa’s case of genocide against Israel. The three activists—Miriam, whose parents fled the first Nakba in Palestine; Bird, daughter of survivors of a massacre in their homeland; and Cedar an anti-zionist Jewish activist—support each other to heal from intergenerational trauma. The play holds space for collective grief while expressing a strong call to action.

Thanks to Easthampton Media for recording this performance.

This reading was directed by JuPong Lin. Charmaine Sutton composed and sang “Write My Name Upon My Soul.”

CAST:

• Charmaine Sutton played Bird

• Lynne Peseot-Yang played Cedar

• Juliet Salameh Olivier played Miriam

• Stephen Burrell played Ngukaitobi and Lamola

• Wilma Pruitt played Ni Ghralaigh and Hassim

• Nisse Greenberg played Becker

Unedited recording of first performance in the Blue Room, Easthampton CitySpace, October 12, 2024. Program with credits.