A Knock on the Roof
Traverse Theatre
The blurb is a useful summary for this one. “Mariam prepares for war. She knows that the army often drops small warning bombs on residential buildings in Gaza, giving tenants 5-15 minutes to evacuate before a rocket demolishes their home. She decides to train for the possibility of this "Knock on the Roof", frantically (and often humorously) practicing how far she can run in five minutes, and what she can carry to safety. Heartbreaking, gripping, and surprisingly comedic, this timely solo show directed by Oliver Butler premieres ahead of a highly anticipated Off-Broadway run in New York City.”
We sadly live in a time where it’s impossible to tune into any news reports without witnessing horrifying images of conflict and destruction whether it is Ukraine, Gaza or elsewhere. At some point we will being to encounter more of these stories of personal and political strife in out theatres.
Khawla Ibraheem is a playwright and actor from the occupied Golan heights, on Israel’s northern border; and in her own monologue “A Knock on The Roof “she plays Mariam, a young Palestinian mother living in Gaza with her four-year-old son when the Israeli assault on Gaza begins, following the Hamas attack on south Israel in October 2023.
On stage with nothing but a chair, Ibraheem delivers her monologue at a cracking pace but genuinely connects with each audience member through eye contact. The show begins with the house lights up as Mariam draws the audience into her life. Her tone is light, confiding, funny. According to her, she’s a “cool mum”, not one to smother her son with worry. She resists her mother’s pleas to go and live with the rest of the family. She can cope with the danger. We hear of Mariam’s daily life in Gaza: the power cuts, the sewage-filled sea, her four-year-old son’s inability to fast during Ramadan. Then the war begins, and we’re immersed in the terrifying and surreal reality of living under the threat of annihilation at any moment.
Her husband is studying in another country, her mother moves in, and Mariam begins to prepare. She practices a routine, using a pillowcase packed with books as a stand in for her son, a backpack of essentials, and running as fast as possible. How far can she run in fifteen minutes down seven flights of stairs and into the bombed streets of Gaza? Soon she is training her mother – jogging around the living room. It becomes obsessive. Khawla Ibraheem embodies all her characters with confidence. It is a heart-breaking story which spins to an inevitable hellish and abrupt conclusion.
The entire story is utterly tragic and the monumental stress that individuals must live under in this kind of war zone is immense. It becomes normal for Miriam but for the audience it is edge-of-the-seat stuff. Lighting and sound contribute to a production ostensibly played on a bare stage. As things begin to unravel, we see opposing shadows on the wall. It is eerie and adds to the chaotic tension.
Essential and necessary theatre. Ibraheem puts a face to the 40,000 Palestinians killed so far in a barbaric conflict.
Kate Gaul
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