In Gaza, actors turn wartime experience into theatre

Palestinian actors in Gaza have turned experiences of siege, displacement and loss into 50 Minutes in Gaza, a play developed and performed amid the conditions it depicts. Al Jazeera Global News reported that the production began as a writing workshop in April 2026 and eventually involved eight performers.

Directed by veteran actor, playwright and director Ali Abu Yasin, the production was rehearsed in makeshift tents and a cramped room after cultural venues were damaged or inaccessible. The actors built a set from salvaged timber and damaged tent canvas, while unreliable electricity limited rehearsals and music was played from a mobile phone.

The play presents wartime experiences including a doctor unable to save a child, childbirth under siege and a couple trying to protect their family. Several performers drew on their own displacement, bereavement and the destruction of their homes when developing their roles.

According to the actors, rehearsals were interrupted by nearby explosions, gunfire and drone activity. They sometimes stopped to contact family members before continuing. A nearby missile strike was also reported days before the production’s opening, with local medics telling press that five people were killed.

The play opened at the A.M. Qattan Foundation’s cultural centre in Gaza City on 19 July, before touring locations including Daraj, Deir el-Balah, Nuseirat and Khan Younis through late July and August. The company said more than 500 people attended a performance at a wedding hall in Khan Younis.

UNESCO had verified damage to 164 cultural sites in Gaza since 7 October 2023 by March 2026, including 128 sites of historical or artistic interest. For Abu Yasin and the performers, the production continued despite the loss of conventional theatre spaces and the risks surrounding its rehearsals and performances.