Borders ألسياج הגדר  - An online encounter between two potential enemies on Grindr.

A Junction Theatre production written by Nimrod Danishman and directed by Neta Gracewell.

UPDATE - DECEMBER 2022

Borders is going to VAULT Festival 2023!

It's been a long wait, but a year later here we are getting ready for the real thing - the biggest theatre festival in London!

Catch us at one of our 7 shows at VAULT Festival, London between 7-12 February 2023.

*** TICKETS HERE ***

Support this vital story reaching audiences <3 

Your donation is hugely appreciated and will go directly into paying all artists for their hard work and incredible dedication to bringing this story to life.

AND we have a new George - say hello to the wonderful Tarik Badwan, who's going to perform alongside our longtime Boaz Yaniv Yafe.

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UPDATE - MAY 2022

A HUGE THANK YOU TO ALL OUR SUPPORTERS SO FAR!

Thanks to your generous donations we've been able to perform to a SOLD OUT auditorium at Drayton Arms Theatre in February 2022, and received rave 5 star reviews!

We have more shows coming up this month at OSO Arts Centre, and we're working on scheduling a national tour. Sign up to Junction Theatre newsletter so you don't miss up on show updates, workshops and new projects!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Our Play - an untold story

"Looking for now?"

Boaz and George meet on Grindr. One is in Israel, the other in Lebanon. They're both horny but can't meet physically. Something in their conversation excites them both. The distance, the “enemy”, the foreignness, the experience of being gay in another culture. They both fill a void the other has, becoming each other’s secret love. As they decide to meet in Berlin, the border between the countries heats up, and they’re forced to make difficult decisions.

"I can’t imagine that we'll never see each other.

I mean, we're so close."

Borders is a story about two people, never meant to meet or connect, who try to form an intimate relationship against all odds. Scripted very delicately and movingly with a touch of humour, it addresses the many complexities of the Middle Eastern reality in which the geopolitical circumstances we are born into dictate the people we can naturally connect with.

We need your help in bringing this show to communities in London and across the UK. Join us in telling this beautiful LGBTQ+ Middle Eastern story, celebrating theatre in translation and better representation on stage.

Inspired by a real encounter between the Israeli writer and a Lebanese man on Grindr, and with the staged version connected to the personal migratory experience of the production team, this show advocates for empathy and border-crossing not only at a time when the delicate situation between Israel and Lebanon can frequently destabilise, but also when we are seeing borders around the world increasing in number and strength.

With critically acclaimed productions of the play in Israel, the US and Germany, and following a UK premier at Birmingham’s Shout Festival in November 2021 it’s time to introduce this engaging story to audiences in London and beyond!

Our Team - love has no borders

The team behind Borders is a brilliant combination of MENA, LGBTQ+ and international theatre makers, embodying border crossing in their very practice!

Neta Gracewell is an Israeli born internationally raised theatre director, performer, and multidisciplinary artist. In her works she focuses on themes and collaborates with teams of multi cultural background, championing her own mixed heritage of Yemenite, Polish and Ukrainian roots.

Tarik Badwan is a British-Palestinian actor, writer and musician based in London.

Yaniv Yafe is an Israeli actor, trained at Drama Centre and The Boris Schukin Theatre Institute in Moscow, based in London.

Ethan Cheek is a British queer performance designer with experience in theatre, film and assisting established designers.

Maria Majewska is a Polish theatre producer, writer and stage manager based in London.

Bar Harel is an Israeli sound designer, composer and singer-songwriter based in Tel Aviv.

Adi Gortler is an Israeli movement director, director, performer and teacher based in London.

Cheng Keng is a Taiwanese theatre artist and designer.

Nimrod Danishman is an Israeli award winning playwright, director and teacher, co-founder of the LGBTQ+ theatre HaMeshulash in Tel Aviv.

Adi Drori is an Israeli actress, theatre maker and translator.

*George has previously been performed by Joseph Samimi and Karim Motaz.

About Junction Theatre

Junction Theatre & Performance is a new theatre company established by Neta Gracewell, celebrating multi-cultural theatre. We’re focused on producing translated plays and Migrant led stories in the UK, giving centre stage to voices and narratives that rarely receive it. Borders is the debut project of Junction Theatre.

Interested in bringing BORDERS to your venue? Contact us at info@junctiontheatre.com

Our Audience - opening a space for discussion

Borders premiered at Shout Festival in Birmingham, November 2021. Audience members of the performance have generously shared their feedback with us!

• “Memorable and heartfelt performance, well acted and executed”
• “An emotional account of falling in love amidst politics, borders, violence”
• “Authentic, genuine and very hot!”
• “Modern times Romeo & Juliet”
• “Great illustration of a cultural and social context not many people in the UK are familiar with”

We also asked audiences is there anything they’re taking with them from the show?

Watch below the responses we got!

Our Plan - how we will use the funds

Your kind support will enable us at Junction Theatre to perform Borders in the most sustainable way possible.

The first £5K raised will be used for our run at a central London venue in early 2022.

{ We were honoured to be programmed in the exceptional VAULT Festival 2022, which was unfortunately cancelled. We’re currently securing our alternative run to bring Borders to you! }

We prioritise paying all artists fairly, so funds will be channelled first and foremost to pay all artists on the team for their incredible and hard work: actors, producer, director, designers, stage manager and tech operators.

Funding will also be used for:

• Rehearsal space hire
• Materials - set design, props, and costumes
• Equipment Hire
• Traveling, transport and storage expenses
• Covid measures
• Accessibility costs (we really want to have at least 1 BSL interpreted show!)
• Marketing & PR

After meeting our initial budget goals, the other £5K will be dedicated to enabling a UK tour of Borders, reaching as many audiences as possible!

These funds will serve as match funding for our Arts Council England project grant application.

Following audience feedback we will invest some more time in the rehearsal space to tweak the performance even more. We’re also working on creating a community engagement program around the show – so our values of empathy and opening a discussion go beyond the theatre space!

Every little bit brings us closer to our goal!

THANK YOU <3