A review:

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What a play!
I didn't know what to expect, went with an open mind and heart and I cried.
I wish this play would be available for everyone to experience. I think it hit me hard because the stories are from people of Arab descent; Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Saudi, Iraq, Algeria, Egypt and so on. All contained heartbreaking stories that pushed them out of their own countries. 

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But before going in to the details of the play, 
Let me quickly talk about the space. It was in an old church, which just added to the full experience. High ceilings, beautiful wood work, your typical gothic like design, and ofcourse massive glass windows. The stage was a simple rectangular platform, maybe 100cm off the ground. Pushed to the wall of the church as its background, which had a simple prop of shelves like structure with different levels filled with jars, which some had olives in. The seating surrounded the stage from 3 angles, with church benches at the back and folded chairs at the front. To best describe the atmosphere, it was a community family friendly affair with a bit of a flair.  And honestly sometimes such wholesome performances are what the doctor ordered. 

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What was different and new, for me at least, was the actors weren't acting, each told their own true story, spoken from the heart. With the help of their fellow performers, a few props and the spoken word, they painted for us a small chapter of some of the heartache they had to endure.  
Stories of war, death, theft and more. 
 
During the performance, depending on the story that is being told, they had boxes filled with goodies for us to enjoy and experience, bringing us closer to becoming part of the tale. For example, a lady spoke about the last time she saw her grandmother in Syria, how everytime she cooked grape leaves, it would take her back to the old kitchen where she would sit between all the women of her family rolling each piece, with her sorry they told us to reach down our seat and grab a box that had two grape leaves in them, and as she continued through her memory, we enjoyed every bite, taking us with her to her grandmother's home. 

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It's such an odd world we live in.
With all such stories, relatable ones, like breakfast with grandparents, laughing children, parks and baked goods, they always begin with love, nothing but love. Then an outsider, a foreign entity, dictates that they need “rescuing”, by invasion, murders and killing.. And each and every time it ends with tears, heartaches and despair. This group was not just of different middle eastern backgrounds, but of different ages, decades apart.. There was a child of maybe 10 or 12 years old who spoke his truth, there was a teenage girl who recalled horrific memories, there was a 40 year old woman who told her story and there was an 85 year old man who reenacted his experience. Understand.. this has been going on for decades, centuries .. like an open wound that never had time to heal, bleeds over and over again.

Such performances, by everyday people that tell their tales, are here to remind us all that we are exactly the same, it helps remove the mental borders that were created by our subconscious for the sake of belonging. There is no them vs us .. There's just all of us. 

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I can't wait to see what comes next from the organizers, and I recommend everyone to keep an eye out as it was a full experience of all senses.

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