Inspired by three major anniversaries in the Palestinian struggle, in 2017 award-winning playwright and actor Justin Butcher worked with human rights charity Amos Trust to mount the Just Walk to Jerusalem from June – November. A pilgrimage set out to walk from London to Jerusalem in penance, solidarity, and hope.
Calling for full equal rights for all in the Holy Land, more than one hundred walkers took part. Nine walked the whole way. This is their story – walking journals and travellers’ tales on paths of pilgrimage and conquest, from monasteries and mountain passes to Bedouin camps and desert wadis across Europe and the Middle East, brought to life in a dynamic new show that’s a playful and inventive blend of theatre and stand-up.
Along Roman roads and refugee routes, with occasional outbreaks of blisters, tear gas and desert spirituality, Butcher traces the perils, pratfalls and marvels of the path to Jerusalem. A chronicle of serendipity: hilarious, infuriating and occasionally numinous – or, as pilgrims might say, encountering the Divine.
Written and performed by Justin Butcher. Directed by Genesis-shortlisted director Matilda Reith (The Good Times, The Andrew Project, Hotel Room) and designed by Sarah Mercadé, with a haunting and evocative soundscape by Jack C. Arnold (Wild Rose, War & Peace, Holy Flying Circus, Albatross) and video montage created from live footage along the route by award-winning artists Damian Hale, David Shepherd and Christian Krupa (Sigur Ros, Chemical Brothers, U2) & lighting design by Tom Turner (The Dog Walker, Itaipu, Bat out of Hell).
Supported by Hodder & Stoughton, Waverley Learning and Zaytoun CIC.
