Playwright Caryl Churchill has written a new 10-minute play as a response to the crisis in Gaza, which will be performed at the Royal Court from 6 to 21 February.
Entitled Seven Jewish Children – A Play For Gaza, the play is “a small response to what has happened in Gaza in the last few weeks,” according to Churchill.
Speaking to The Guardian on Saturday, the playwright said: “It came out of feeling strongly about what’s happening in Gaza – it’s a way of helping the people there. Everyone knows about Gaza, everyone is upset about it, and this play is something they could come to. It’s a political event, not just a theatre event.”
Seven Jewish Children – A Play For Gaza is directed by Royal Court Artistic Director Dominic Cooke and will be staged in the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at 21:00, following scheduled performances of Marius von Mayenburg’s The Stone.
Tickets for Churchill’s play are free, with a collection for the charity Medical Aid For Palestinians (MAP): Emergency Appeal for the People of Gaza taken after the performance.
The script of the play will be available to download from 11 February, with no charge for performance rights, on the condition that a collection is made for MAP.
Cooke said: “I have long been interested in the genesis of the conflict in the Middle East, so it was very exciting to receive Caryl’s powerful and humane play on the subject. This short, urgent piece has been written in response to recent events and its resonance goes way beyond the present in its understanding of the roots of the tragedy that’s now unfolding in Gaza.”
Churchill has a long association with the Royal Court, which has staged many of her plays, including Top Girls, A Number and the recent Drunk Enough To Say I Love You?
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