Khawla Ibraheem in A Knock on the Roof [Alex Brenner]

KHAWLA Ibraheem’s powerful one-woman play (first conceived in 2014) explores life in a war zone. Mariam lives in Gaza with her young son Noor and elderly mother. Her husband Omar is studying abroad.

Mariam becomes obsessed with the “knock on the roof”, the small warning bomb the Israelis drop to warn Palestinian civilians of an imminent strike. They have five minutes to gather their belongings and flee. She debates what she should pack, asking the audience for advice – what would you pack? Then she calculates how long she can carry Noor while she runs for their lives.

Initially, the tone is light as Mariam trains with a rucksack and a pillowcase stuffed with books representing Noor’s weight. She uses the alarm on her phone to time the distance she can put between their condemned home and safety in five minutes.

Gradually she begins to show the strain, becoming increasingly hyper-vigilant.

Ibraheem, a Syrian actress who lives in the Golan Heights, gives a warm, nuanced performance and vividly conveys the reality of life under siege: the power cuts, the lack of fresh water, the constant fear.

Oliver Butler’s beautifully judged 75-minute production is played out on a stage bare except for a chair: the brick walls animated by Hana S Kim’s projections and Oona Curley’s evocative lighting; the use of shadows suggesting others fleeing alongside Mariam.

It’s a poignant unravelling as Ibraheem draws us into Mariam’s world, holding off the play’s full horror until its final moments.

To March 8
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