A SHOW which features Palestinian and Scottish musicians will go ahead tonight as planned despite Storm Eowyn causing havoc.
Bethlehem Calling, a showcase of Palestinian and Scottish musicians will debut at annual folk festival Celtic Connections tonight despite a series of visa rejections and extreme weather.
The show is set to feature 16 performers – nine from Palestine and seven from Scotland and will include a livestream of several Palestinian pipers following the Home Office's denial of the entire group’s visa applications bar one.
The creative team includes Palestinian actors and members of the Palestinian Arab Orthodox Scout pipers of Beit Jala, whose connection to Scotland dates back to the group’s formation in 1924.
Zoë Hunter, producer for Celtic Connections, outlined in a statement how difficult it has been getting Palestinian musicians to Scotland, “Since the ceasefire things have been really difficult in the West Bank.
"Our piper had to jump through countless hoops to make it into Jordan on time to catch his flight. It was to the wire and stressful for all involved. When he arrived, when we asked what we could get for him, he answered: ‘Some therapy.’”
Hunter continued, “On Thursday, just as two more visas had finally been confirmed and flights hastily booked for the two Palestinian performers, the team learned that their rehearsal room at the National Theatre of Scotland would have to be closed because of Friday’s extreme weather.”
The storm caused last minute flight cancellations, forcing organisers to hastily book last minute travel to London for the musicians, “Immediately I went online and found another airline that was still selling tickets to Heathrow.”
As of this morning, two of the Palestinian artists are still hoping to catch a flight from London that will get them to Glasgow in time for the show.
“We are beyond delighted that after all the hurdles and this mountain that we’ve had to climb that we are going to be putting on this show with every inch of ourselves.”
Tonight’s 7:30pm performance of Bethlehem Calling at Tramway, Glasgow dramatises the experiences of several women growing up in the West Bank of Palestine from 2000-2005, with testimony from current students and those same women, two decades on.
