Because the sound of life is louder than the roar of bombing and higher than the will of destruction and isolation, the Gaza Monologues are a living expression of hope in the face of pain. - Iman Aoun, Artistic Director of Ashtar Theatre
In support of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People (29 November), Centre 42 and the T42 Podcast (Singapore) have heeded the call of Ashtar Theatre (Palestine) to present The Gaza Monologues, a project that Ashtar Theatre started in 2010. These monologues were written and performed by Gazan teenagers under the company’s mentorship to give voice to their horror, hope, and resilience in the face of the Israeli bombardment of Gaza in the years 2008 and 2009.
Together with 30 readers, a diverse mix of artists, writers, actors, and creatives, we are proud to present the Gaza Monologues as a 90-minute podcast, available wherever you listen to podcasts.
In making these monologues free to perform, Ashtar Theatre asks for our attention and support towards a psycho-social intervention in the West Bank, Palestine, that uses theatre and psychology to express and mitigate the traumatic impact of the current war on Gaza. This fundraising initiative can be accessed here.
Thank you to Ashtar Theatre for making these powerful monologues available to us. They were translated from Arabic (Palestine) by Fida Jiryis.
The monologues were written and first performed by, in order of appearance:
Ahmad El Ruzzi
Ahmad Taha
Ashraf A Sossi
Alaa Hajjaj
Amanee A Shorafa
Amjad Abu Yasin
Anas Abu Eitah
Ehab Elayan
Tamer Najem
Taima’a Okasha
Rawand Ja’rour
Reem Afana
Reema El Sadi
Sami El Jerjawi
Sujoud Abu Hussein
Suha Al Mamlouk
Ali Al Hassany
Fateema Abu Hashem
Fateema Atallah
Muhammad El Omrani
Muhammad Qasem
Mahmud Abu Shaa’ban
Mahmud Bala’wi
Mahmud El Turk
Mahmud Afana
Mahmud Najem
Heba Daoud
Wi’am El Dieri
Yasmeen Ja’rour
Yasmeen Abu Amer
Yasmeen Katbeh
Thank you to the readers who lent their voices to these monologues. They are, in order of appearance:
Irfan Kasban
A Yagnya
Irsyad Dawood
Tysha Khan
Timothy Wan
Cheryl Ho
Shawn Soh
Jo Tan
Joshua Simon
Karen Tan
Ang Xiao Ting
Isabella Chiam
Zee Wong
Noorlinah Mohamed
Shahid Nasheer
Medli Dorothea Loo
Rino Junior John
Umi Ismail
Cherilyn Woo
Sean Tobin
Tan Shou Chen
Rachel Chin
Joel Tan
Danial Matin
Lim Shien Hian
Kishan Singh
Preeti Nair
Grace Kalaiselvi
Oon Shu An
Munah Bagharib
Thank you to Zachary Chan, who drew and designed the beautiful cover artwork.