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ABC News
24 minutes ago
- ABC News
Coriolanus star Hazem Shammas on the futility of making art at a time of crisis
Hazem Shammas doesn't see the point in making art at a time like this. "I feel the futility of it more and more," he tells ABC Arts. It's a disappointing and troubling feeling for the Palestinian Australian actor, best known for roles in TV shows Safe Harbour, Underbelly and The Twelve. Shammas is grappling with this as he prepares to play the title role of Coriolanus in a new production by Bell Shakespeare in Melbourne. The rarely performed play — it's Bell's first staging in almost 30 years — is about the corrosive influence of power and politics. Shammas plays Coriolanus, a soldier who returns to Rome victorious after war with the Volscians. Called upon to be the city's next consul, he faces opposition from both the city's elected tribunes (played by Matilda Ridgway and Marco Chiappi) and ordinary citizens. He rallies against the idea of popular rule, saying citizens having any power over politicians allows "crows to peck the eagles". Consequently he is banished from Rome, and soon seeks revenge on the city by joining forces with the Volscians. Coriolanus — marking Shammas's return to Bell Shakespeare after starring in Macbeth in 2023 — is landing rave reviews, but the actor had to be convinced to take on the role. "It's not the crowd-pleaser that, say, Macbeth is, and it's not known so much," he says. "And the language: I get a real sense of Shakespeare's maturity in his writing; the poetry is denser." While parallels have been drawn between the character of Coriolanus and US President Donald Trump, the far more disturbing link for Shammas is to the war in Gaza, where 146 people including 88 children have died of malnutrition and the death toll has passed 60,000 people since Hamas' attack on Israel in October 2023. "We're studying power in a time when there are horrific abuses of power and that affects me," Shammas says. "I'm a Palestinian, playing a role where the actor walks around talking about wiping people out as a solution. "I'm playing a role where a man walks around talking about essentially ethnic cleansing. "Of course I'm going to think about that constantly." Making theatre at this time, Shammas says, is "dabbling in whimsy" and an "intellectual privilege". "[Coriolanus] is a play about the abuses of power, but when we're living in a climate of utter, horrific abuse of power and our arts community is silenced, and we remain silent, it troubles me." Since the beginning of the war in Gaza, Australian artists whose work has referenced the Arab-Israeli conflict, or who have spoken out about human rights abuses, including the killing of journalists, have had performances cancelled and awards rescinded. Those artists include Khaled Sabsabi, who, after being dropped was recently reinstated to represent Australia at the Venice Biennale; and Jayson Gillham, who is suing the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra for his cancelled performances. Expressions of support for the Palestinian cause have also ended in censorship. Writer K A Ren Wyld lost a $15,000 fellowship over a social media post following the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in October last year, which was deleted shortly after it was posted. Kellee Green's win at the Queensland Music Awards for an instrumental song titled 'River to Sea' led to the Brisbane City Council withdrawing funding for the awards; workshops by Omar Sakr and other writers at the State Library Victoria were cancelled over "child and cultural safety"; and when some of the cast of The Seagull at Sydney Theatre Company wore keffiyehs to a curtain call, a number of donors and board members withdrew. "How are we OK with our artists and our writers being constantly silenced?" Shammas says. "How are we OK with things being defunded or threatened [to be defunded] constantly? "We're in a perpetual state of fear, and we're walking around not talking about it, only worried about our next job and whether we've got a job or not, while people are being f**king slaughtered." Shammas argues government intervention "can stop our voices". "But it's happening everywhere and to everyone right now purely because of a f**king genocide that is being allowed to happen in Palestine. "[That intervention] is more troubling now than it was [in the past]." Israel has repeatedly denied it is pursuing a campaign of genocide in Gaza, accusing Hamas in turn of trying to wipe out the Jewish population in Israel. Shammas does not intend to stop working in the arts. "That's who I am; it's what I do," he says. "That's why I'm so troubled by this." And while he is frustrated by the failure of the Australian arts community to speak up against against the war in Gaza and what he argues is censorship, he is also at times heartened by solidarity in the wider community. For example, current and former collaborators — including Coriolanus co-stars Jules Billington and Matilda Ridgway — have signed an open letter of more than 4,000 artists to the federal government calling for unimpeded humanitarian access to Gaza, potential sanctions of Israel, and recognition of Palestinian statehood. "I don't doubt the people I work with and their capacities for engagement in this," he says. "I don't doubt any individual audiences' capacities for engagement in this. "But I doubt our collective will for engagement in this." Still, Shammas remains proud of the work he and his collaborators at Bell Shakespeare have done on Coriolanus. "We've created an exceptional piece of art," he says. But he fears the ideas about power and politics in the play fail to reach beyond the theatre. That impelled him to speak up. Coriolanus is at Arts Centre Melbourne until August 10.
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
DEEP DIVE: How does recognising Palestinian statehood help Gaza?
Most of the world recognises Palestine as a state, but Australia and some of its closest allies have refused to. Until this week. A growing list of Western countries — including Canada and the UK — have announced plans to recognise Palestinian statehood. And pressure is mounting for Australia to do the same. But what does statehood recognition mean? And will it lead to peace in Gaza? In this extended episode, leading international law expert Ben Saul shares his time with us for the third time since the war began. We ask him all about Palestinian statehood, the allegations of genocide against Israel, and how much power countries like Australia have in helping to end the war. Guest: Ben Saul, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Counter-terrorism Get the whole story from Hack:
ABC News
2 hours ago
- ABC News
Judgement to be handed down over legality of pro-Palestinian Sydney Harbour Bridge march
A judgement due to be handed down this morning will decide the legality of a pro-Palestinian march across the Sydney Harbour Bridge on Sunday. The Palestinian Action Group was referred to the Supreme Court by NSW Police after it announced plans to march over the bridge in support of Palestinians as the war rages on in Gaza. NSW Police sought a prohibition order over the event, which would not ban people from attending and participating, but would mean those who did participate would not be protected against offences such as blocking roads or traffic. The court heard from counsel for both the Palestine Action Group and police on Friday. Under cross-examination, Acting Assistant Commissioner Adam Johnson said he had public safety concerns about the event. "Imagine a scenario where the public assembly remains authorised. In that situation, are you saying police would not facilitate safe conduct of the event?" barrister Felicity Graham, representing the organisers, asked. "We would always do our best to ensure public safety, but in these timeframes, no. We'd be unable to guarantee public safety," he replied. "It's a certainty that a very large group of people attend even if the public assembly is not authorised, do you agree?" Ms Graham asked. "It's a possibility," the witness replied. Acting Assistant Commissioner Johnson told the court the bridge would still need to be closed if the gathering was authorised. He also raised concerns about plans for attendees to first gather at Lang Park — situated on the corner of York, Grosvenor and Lang streets — to approach the harbour bridge. "Fifty thousand people at Lang Park, whether it's authorised or unauthorised, has significant public safety risks," he said. Before the hearing began on Friday, Josh Lees from Palestine Action Group told media the crisis in Gaza had not abated and it was an "urgent and horrific situation". "It's why we called it over the harbour bridge, because we need to do something bigger than what we've already done," he said. Mr Lees said the bridge had been shut previously for "much less significant reasons", including for a movie to be filmed, and said an argument that a closure required more planning time did not add up. He said the plans had attracted "unprecedented support" and claimed NSW Police had not accepted the alternative plans suggested by the group, including delaying the event for several weeks. The group took to Instagram to announce several union groups were backing the march, including the United Workers Union and the Nurses and Midwives' Association. Premier Chris Minns said on Friday the government acknowledged the demand for the march, but that the "last thing" police wanted was "chaos" in Sydney streets. "We recognise people want to protest, we're hopeful, depending on the outcome of the court case... ... [that] common sense can prevail and people are given an opportunity to express their voice," he said. The "March for Humanity" is scheduled for Sunday afternoon. Justice Belinda Rigg will hand down her verdict at 10am Saturday.
