Fridge Theater

In 2007, Didier made his first trip to Palestine to write "The Wonderful Legend of Godfrey of Bouillon."

Touched by the encounters he had and the situation of the Palestinian people, he returned several times with the aim of leading a cultural initiative there.

In 2018, he met actress Diana Sweity and decided to support her desire to create her own traveling puppet theater. Beyond the artistic collaboration, financial support was provided by the Wallonie-Bruxelles International agency as part of a five-year bilateral cooperation agreement.
This is not a paternalistic view of cooperation. Diana is an exceptional actress and a specialist in cultural action in such a unique context as occupied Palestine. As such, she inspires us as much, if not more, than we inspire her.
Among the ongoing projects is the creation of the show "The Little Match Girl" as part of a co-production between our two companies.

The Fridge Theater was established in June 2019.

The Fridge Theater is a traveling theater company specializing in puppetry for children. It is based in Beit Awwa, a town located south of Hebron (Palestine).

Beit Awwa is situated in Area "C" (under Israeli control while being in Palestinian territory) and is considered one of the marginalized towns, lacking cultural, recreational, and educational centers due to the circumstances. Furthermore, the town is surrounded by three settlements. The economic activity is focused on recycling metals and used furniture.

Given the impressive concentration of refrigerator carcasses in Beit Awwa, this is the origin of the company's name.
The desire of Diana Sweiti, director of the Fridge Theater, to establish her company in Beit Awwa stems from her wish to create a cultural structure that can offer an alternative vision of the world as seen by the children and adolescents of Beit Awwa within the context of occupation.
The theater, the projection of animated puppets—non-real but representative figures—entertainment, symbolism, and the affirmation of cultural roots while being open to all forms of culture, along with addressing social issues imaginatively and with the perspective of the artist, are all tools that allow the children of Beit Awwa to dream of their world differently and sometimes simply to escape through entertainment. Culture serves as a tool for popular education complementing the school system. Being a traveling theater, the Fridge Theater performs in all regions of the West Bank.
It offers theatrical performances, puppet-making workshops for children and adults, animation film design workshops, and storytelling shows. Diana El-Sweiti, along with a group of young people, led the creation of this theater in cooperation with Les Royales Marionnettes and with the help of Wallonie Bruxelles International.
2019: مسرحية "كابوس عمر" - "Omar's Nightmare" – Omar's Nightmare.

2019 : ورشة عمل مع مجموعة 02 سنة يتخلل هذه الورشة عدة تدريبات , العاب - تتكون من 51 فتاة تتراوح اعمارهن بين 02
دراما , السرد القصصي وتصنيع الدمى
A workshop with a group of 15girls, whose ages range from 20-29 years. This workshop includes several exercises, drama games, storytelling and puppet making.
2020 :… انتاج مسرحية بائعة الكبريت وهذا الانتاج هو انتاج مشترك بين مسرح الثلاجة ومسرح رويال ماريونيت
Production of The “Matches Seller”, one co-production is between of The Fridge Theatre and the Royal Puppets Theater

Avec le soutien

• The Municipality of Beit Awwa
• Wallonie Bruxelles International as part of a bilateral collaboration with les Royales Marionnettes