Daniel Nelson

Fireworks

Fireworks

Image by Royal Court

Her 90-minute play at the Royal Court Theatre in London does something more universal. It is about two families in an emptying apartment block in occupied Palestine, with specifically local touches,  such as the ready-packed bag by the door in case of rapid enforced evacuation. But the reason the piece is so powerful is that although when she started writing four years ago the subject was the invasion of Ramallah, it burst its boundaries and is about the impact of violence on families anywhere.

She has pulled off the feat of writing interestingly about powerless characters: the two families are trapped indoors by constant military bombardment. Their options are few, and all are potentially lethal. Bereavement, tension, frustration and claustrophobia squeeze relationships into grotesque shapes; the pressure leads one husband to turn inward, the other to hatch a pathetic plan to frighten the unseen enemy. Both responses anger or frighten their spouses, piling further pressure on their closeted, constrained lives. They are desperate to protect their children, not only from the physical danger of bombs and bullets (the Fireworks of the title), but from the sapping effects of fear and the reality of a world gone crazy. The children have one weapon – imagination, but even that is warped by war (“There’s no-one in the streets but us. You run that way and I’ll run this way. Whoever gets back to the front door first without getting shot, wins.”) and by growing awareness, signified by a first menstrual period and a first shave.

I’m making it sound offputtingly heavy, but it’s not, thanks to the magic of good theatre – crisp writing (and translation), excellent understated acting, a simple but effective set, creative direction: this is truly a collaborative effort. It’s intense, heartfelt, disturbing, moving.

·         Fireworks is at the Royal Court, Sloane Square, SW1, until 14 March. Info:7565 5000

·         RAJA SHEHADEH AND DAVID GREIG IN CONVERSATION
THU 26 FEB, 6PM
Raja Shehadeh in conversation with David Greig on his book Language of Peace, Language of War
£5 or free with a ticket to Fireworks

·         SPOKEN WORD: FAJR TAMIMI AND YAZ FENTAZI
THU 5 MAR, 10PM
Fiery, lyrical, spoken word exploring the conflicts in her homeland from Palestinian poet and writer Fajr Tamimi, with musical accompaniment by Algerian oud player and composer Yaz Fentazi
£5 or free with a ticket to Fireworks

·         WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GAZA: REEM ABU JABER AND NAHIL MOHANA
SAT 7 MAR, 12.30PM
Discussion on the effects of the recent war in Gaza on local children, led by Reem Abu Jaber, general manager of Nawa for Culture and Arts Association in Gaza, plus short film. This will be followed by a sharing of new play in progress, Lipstick, by Gazan writer Nahil Mohana
£5 or free with a ticket to Fireworks

·         KATIBA 5 AND 47 SOUL
FRI 13 MAR, 10PM – LATE, ROYAL COURT BAR
Palestinian hip-hop group Katiba 5 bring a blend of rap and resistance to the Royal Court Bar, plus the revolutionary sounds of 47 SOUL, whose music fuses Arabic reggae, hip-hop, and mijwz with debka, rai and Afrobeat.
Free

Royal Court International:

http://www.royalcourttheatre.com/playwriting/international-playwriting/

Playwrights Group:

http://www.royalcourttheatre.com/playwriting/international-playwriting/international-residency/

 

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