Introduction:

Good afternoon, today I will be performing an extract from the ‘Keepers

of Infinite Space’, which was written by Omar El-Khairy and had its
global premier on the 22nd of January 2014, at the Park Theatre in
London. The play is about a Palestinian prisoner, it explores the
dynamics of the Israeli Prison system and reveals the complexities of
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I will be portraying the character of
Shadi, a 16-year-old Palestinian prisoner. Tom is a worker of the British
International Committee of the Red Cross, and he is trying to convince
Shadi to record his testimony.

Q: Summarise your character’s objectives within the

scene you portray.
A: I believe that Shadi’s objectives within this extract were to give
further insight of the Israeli prison system and how it was like being
arrested as a child and what it’s like when they are arrested. The writer,
Omar El-Khairy brought me to this idea because of how violently Shadi
was treated. Beginning from when Shadi was dragged out of his home
at 3am, all the way until when Shadi was thrown in a room where he
thought he would die. And all of this was caused just because of a
baseless accusation with no real evidence to prove Shadi’s guilt.

I believe that Shadi creates a sense of sympathy in the audience for all
the Palestinians, an approximate 40% of the population, who have been
wrongfully imprisoned on false accusations. I also believe that Shadi is
used to enlighten the audience on how horribly the Palestinians are
treated. And Shadi is just a child – this makes the audience question,
and wonder, how badly are Palestinian adults treated if a child is left to
starve and is beaten every day.

Q: Explain the role of the character you portrayed

within the context of the entire play.
A: I believe that Shadi’s purpose in ‘The Keepers of Infinite Space’ was
to provide an alternate perspective of the Israeli prison system and to
show how defeated and demotivated the prisoners were, even when
they had multiple people trying to help them. I believe that Shadi’s role
in the play, particular his interviews with international workers, showed
the audience that, although it may look as if the Palestinian prisoners
are getting a lot of help, their real situation and living conditions are
much worse than what we see on the outside. Shadi also creates a
greater sense of concern for the audience, as even Shadi, a strong
spirited child is completely broken down and accepts his defeat as he
knows, even the International Red Cross workers won’t be able to really
help him. In conclusion, I think that Shadi’s role in the play ‘The Keepers
of Infinite Space was to provide an alternate perspective of the Israeli
prison system from the eyes of a teenager and to show how the
brutality of the Israeli system had completely demotivated and defeated
a high-spirited kid who knew, and accepted, that it is very, very difficult
for him to be saved.
Q: Explain the breathing techniques you used to
support your voice in the scene portrayed.
A: I used breath control, specifically ‘Rib Reserve Breathing’ often in
my play as I raised my voice to show the frustration of Shadi in the
scene. An example of this was when I changed my tone to an
angrier/more frustrated one when talking about how Shadi was beaten
by the prison guards. I also used breath control to show how Shadi
would have calmed down before reading out his fathers’ quote. At one
point, I ran out of breath and had to use the ‘Abdominal Press’ to say
the final sentence of the paragraph.