The theatrical performance "I Am from There" opens the 19th edition of the "Hikaya" Festival

Palestinian artist Amer Hlehel opens the 19th edition of the "Hikaya" Festival in Amman with his theatrical performance "I Am from There," which revives Palestinian memory through human stations and the individual's relationship with his homeland.

Palestinian artist Amer Hlehel opens the 19th edition of the "Hikaya" Festival in the Jordanian capital Amman, with his theatrical performance "I Am from There." The show takes place at 8:00 PM on the stage of the Orthodox Culture and Education Society Theater, organized by "Al-Balad Theater," as part of the edition named after Palestinian storyteller Hamza Al-Aqrabawi. The work takes the audience on a journey into early memory, where Hlehel revisits stations of Palestinian life, and the individual's relationship with his homeland through experiences, events, and contradictions, in an attempt to evoke the bonds that connect the individual to his personal and collective memory. The performance does not present a direct biography of the artist, but rather relies on human stations and experiences that address the homeland with its tragedies, poetry, and hopes, and explores the relationship between individual memory and the broader Palestinian experience. The work comes, according to the announcement, in the context of the need to restore shared memory and sentiment, after nearly two years of painful events that cast a shadow over Palestinian life. The show was produced in collaboration with "Al-Hakawati," the Palestinian National Theater in Jerusalem, and was previously presented during 2025 in several cities, including Haifa. The festival program includes performances and evenings featuring artists and storytellers from Palestine and other Arab countries, including the show "Tales of the Passersby," which revives Palestinian stories associated with the Nakba.