Companies of TDP – Theatre Day Productions® (TDP)
Ayyam Al-Masrah (Jerusalem, Gaza, Hebron)
&
JJ Theatre Days Foundation (Amsterdam)
Theatre Day Productions® (TDP) is a registered brand owned by the JJ Theatre Days Foundation in The Netherlands and working in Palestine since 1995 under the various Arabic names “Yoom Al-Masrah” and “Ayyam Al-Masrah” and “T.D.P for Theatre Day Productions.” The headquarters have been in East-Jerusalem since the start of the adventure.
In origin, TDP began in 1995 as a small drama and theatre organization working exclusively with and for children and young adults in Palestine. For over three decades, TDP has developed into an experienced and professional training centre for drama and is a provider of theatre and drama initiatives for Palestinian youth – in school and out. This training in drama, expression, story-telling, as well as various management skills, has resulted in the successful launching of two regional organizations: one in Gaza and the other in Hebron.
From January 1, 2008, the Hebron operation is an independent organization and works under the name Yes Theatre. Having been trained by TDP for more than a decade, the artistic and managerial team kept following the original TDP program while adding their own activities for youth and adults locally and internationally.
The process of restructuring the Gaza operation began in 2013 so that they would also become an independent body and carry on with the huge program we had established throughout the Gaza Strip.
Regarding the above mentioned T.D.P. for Theatre Productions: having registered the Gaza Ayyam Al-Masrah as a non-profit company under Palestinian Authority law, TDP’s board registered this second non-profit company in 2014 and – playing on the name – called it T.D.P. for Theatre Productions. This was a Ramallah, West Bank registration under the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Economy. In this way, we could facilitate cultural operations in both Gaza and the West Bank, each under different authorities.
Note: Although the Gaza Ayyam Al-Masrah and the West Bank TDP for Theatre Productions are nominally two organizations, in fact they acted under one umbrella, one unit, with the brand name Theatre Day Productions® (TDP), working for the realization of one vision, one mission, and one overall objective.
By the end of 2018, the phase of intensive capacity building for all Gaza staff was completed. Beside the artistic work this included management, monitoring and evaluation, administration and finances, as well as theatre technical and audiovisual work and IT. That same year, a youth creative Hub was initiated by TDP’s management and the Gaza staff. The Hub placed a high priority on audiovisual and creative digital education for youth.
In 2019, Ayyam Al-Masrah in Gaza made its own General Assembly and Board of Directors and the original company was now officially in the hands of TDP’s Gaza management, Assembly and Board. Until the end of 2021, Ayyam Al-Masrah kept working under the organizational umbrella with TDP for Theatre Productions.
By Dec 31 2021, the transition of all donor connections and responsibilities to Ayyam Al-Masrah was completed, including a donors agreement for the purchase of land and a new theatre building in Gaza, a new home for Ayyam Al-Masrah and for a restart. The Ramallah registration of TDP for Theatre Productions was formally terminated. The Palestinian operation of JJ Theatre Days Foundation came to an end and moved its center of operation back to The Netherlands.
January 1, 2022 marked the first day of the first year of the independent Gaza team. They now work as Ayyam Al-Masrah and continued the original Palestinian registration of TDP. Ayam Al-Masrah and JJ Theatre Days Foundation decided to keep sharing the brand name of Theatre Day Productions® (TDP) signifying continuation of 30 years of mutual support and Palestinian-Dutch cooperation.
Ayyam Al-Masrah is an independent start-up which nevertheless proudly carries 30 years of history and experience. In the footsteps of their parent organization, Ayyam Al-Masrah continues the program of TDP as an experienced training body providing theatre and expression to Palestinian children, young adults, and women.
The war against Gaza, starting October 7, 2023 has turned into a genocidal operation by the occupying Israeli army. It has changed all perspectives for work and life in the Gaza Strip. TDP’s work in Gaza continues despite the odds, engaging hundreds of surviving trainees and graduates and school children with drama and theatre projects among the internal refugees. In 2024, JJ Theatre Days Foundation started solidarity/awareness campaigns in The Netherlands for support of Ayyam Al-Masrah.
TDP’s archive of artistic and cultural operations of 30 years and beyond is in development in Amsterdam at the project offices of JJ Theatre Days Foundation.
Amsterdam, 13-4-2026
Jan Willems and Jackie Lubeck, founders of Theatre Day Productions® (TDP)