Music 2009
Sheila
Go To Gaza, Drink The Sea
*****
To
be perfectly honest had it not been for the Guy Masterson name attached to
this production it would not have made my Fringe viewing list.
With this subject matter my first thought was don’t we get enough
of this sort of thing on TV? Actually
after seeing this No!
Co
written and directed by Justin Butcher and Ahmed Masoud. This harrowing
yet poignant piece of theatre deserves to be seen by the whole world not
just Fringe audiences in Edinburgh. Written very much from the heart as
Ahmed is from Gaza, this play had me sobbing and laughing from the very
first. Utilising real news footage from 2005 to the present day , it is
horrific to realise only in December 2008 a 26 day conflict killed 1,400
people leaving 5,500 injured and that it occurred since the last Fringe.
Superbly
written produced and performed by Amir Boutrous, Fisun Burgess, Damian
Kell, Rupert Mason, Alia Al-Zougbi and Nizar Al-Issa who composed the
music and played the Oud as well as performing.
The
stage set seemed strange until I linked the piles of shoes with similar
piles seen today in disused concentration camps. The newsreels displaying
atrocity, after atrocity and injured men women and children. I really do
not want to put anyone off seeing this play as it touched me to the core
and hope it gets to others. Could I give it 10 stars I would but sadly no
I can't. If you can only see one piece of theatre this fringe make this the
one!
*****
