Gaza actors stage war play amid displacement and loss
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Abu Qasai Qaddoura, a 42-year-old displaced Gazan, walks two hours to rehearse a play about a doctor amputating his son's leg without anesthetic. The scene is based on a real father's video from Gaza. Qaddoura breaks down after performing, seeing his own children's faces in the doll.
Key Facts
- Abu Qasai Qaddoura, 42, walks two hours on foot to reach rehearsals at the Rashad al-Shawa Cultural Centre in Gaza City.
- Qaddoura's home in al-Tawam was destroyed by Israeli airstrikes, forcing his family of five into a single rooftop room.
- The play, 50 Minutes in Gaza, features a scene where a doctor amputates his son's leg without anesthetic, based on a real father's video.
- Qaddoura breaks down sobbing after the rehearsal scene, saying he saw his own children's faces in the doll.
The Rehearsal
Qaddoura begins his day at 6 a.m. buying firewood for seven shekels ($2) per kilogram or scavenging cardboard and plastic to keep his family warm. He avoids a main road clogged with rubble and Israeli gunfire, taking side streets to the cultural centre. The rehearsal space is a makeshift fabric-and-plastic tent in the car park of the Rashad al-Shawa Cultural Centre. Director Ali Abu Yasin calls the actors back after Qaddoura's breakdown, and he performs the scene again.
Displacement and Loss
Before the war, Qaddoura worked as a production manager and sound technician for local media companies. Israeli airstrikes destroyed his home in al-Tawam, and he now lives with his wife and three children—Ghazal, 15, Qusai, 12, and Sham, 7—in a single rooftop room sheltered by a plastic tarp. During the rehearsal, Qaddoura says he was staring at his own children's faces and feared that tomorrow this could be one of his own sons.
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