Theatre for Everybody, Gaza Strip, Palestine

Poverty and violence are a daily fact of life for too many young people growing up in Israeli-occupied Gaza. They face many limitations on what they can do, and often lack opportunities to express and share their fears and frustration, hopes and concerns in a safe space. Theatre for Everybody has been using drama for nearly 30 years to address social and political concerns, working with both children and adults.
Mandala Trust funding has enabled two groups of young people to participate in twelve drama workshops exploring themes that were important to them. The project culminated in two theatrical presentations which were publicly performed and also filmed.

The younger group, of twelve teenagers aged 13 to 17, created a performance called ‘The Wizard’, in which they highlighted how neglected and ignored they feel, in families where parents are often too busy trying to secure basic needs and dealing with the many practical as well as psychological impacts of the Occupation.

The older group, of seven young people aged 17 to 25, focused on the absence of hope, creating a performance called ‘Absent Dreams’. This told the story of two new graduates who fell in love while at university and became engaged with their families’ approval, but cannot marry, as they are unemployed and have no money to start a life and a family together. The man decides to leave Gaza in search of work, and travels to Turkey with the aim of reaching western Europe via Greece. Months pass without any news of him, and eventually the young woman’s father instructs his daughter to break off the engagement.