Hi everyone,
I have just finished working on Theatre Production Tales of A City By The Sea at La Mama Courthouse, and wanted to share some of the experiences of working with this talented, diverse and enriching group of people!
We were super lucky to have sold out each night of our 2 week season, and it was extended another two days by La Mama Courthouse.
As you can see from the picture above, we had truly grown to become a family on and off the stage, which made it an event bigger blessing to work with such a brilliant cast and crew!
I had quite a favorite experiences of working on this production, and here are just a few of them..
-THE FOOD! Wow my eyes have totally been opened to a new variety of Middle Eastern and Arabic food... Zaatar Bread anyone??!!!
-The language - Wow this language is very hard to pronounce, but is so beautiful and ancient... it really captures many generations worth of history within it's vowels and consonants, and is glorious to listen to.
-The religion - I now have a new found respect of the religion surrounding this culture and conflict that is still going on to this day... and has really opened my eyes to the issues on a 1st hand basis.
-The community - It is the people, the relationships and their connection which makes this story so captivating, heart wrenching and real.... without each other they truly have nothing, and so it really cements there connection to each other in such a strong way and it honestly becomes unbreakable.. which is something which the character played definitely discovered throughout the storyline.
-The Music -ASEEL - Must I say more!!?
I hope that you got a chance to check out this heart wrenching and thought provoking play, and if not then the production will be returning for a second season touring Australia in mid 2016 - so make sure to stay tuned and check it out! :)
Emily :) xx
P.S - You can check out some of our reviews below!
Reviews.
The Age
THEATRE
TALES OF A CITY BY THE SEA ★★★★ Samah Sabawi
La Mama Courthouse, until November 23
Star-crossed lovers Jomana (Nicole Chamoun) and Rami (Osamah Sami) face a hopeless impasse. The Palestinian cause brings together the Gazan journalist and the American-born Palestinian doctor, but is also what threatens to keep them apart.
Like recent Palestinian film Omar (2013), many artists are exploring the current state of the conflict through the frame of divided young love. This is a generation who've grown up under various states of occupation, with internet access allowing them to interact with the world beyond their borders.
Some of playwright Samah Sabawi's poetry is heavy-handed, but there are raw emotions propelling the drama. Director Lech Mackiewicz extracts moving performances from a large cast, with singer Aseel Tayah's wistful dirge echoing throughout.
Sabawi's nuanced exploration of the myriad ways the occupation affects Palestinians at home and abroad could only be drawn from first-hand experiences. Those who've managed to escape find themselves suspended between two worlds, while for those who stay their roots are one of the only things they have left.
Set during the 2008 Gaza war, the play speaks to this year's hostilities just as strongly. Sabawi's focus extends beyond the political to people battling for normalcy – and managing to find humour – when the future is so uncertain. Funerals and marriages become a part of daily life.
Jomana finds solace from documenting the bloodshed.
"One more dead baby and the world will rise," she prays.
Despite its flaws, this gripping play is an act of resistance that implores its audience to take heed.
Comments:
"Having just flown in from Tel Aviv, the authenticity of the characters played by the actors was breathtaking. I could have sworn that Lama was the check out girl at our local supermarket and that Jumana was sitting at the table next to us at a wedding we attended in Jericho..... Emily Coupe as Lama, the chatterbox cousin, with her sexy tight jeans and hijab could be any Palestinian teenager shopping in Ramallah or on the streets of Jaffa, texting as she walks and gossips with her friends." - The Blog: The Australian Jewish Democratic Society, written by Ann Fink.
"Thanks so much for inviting me last night, I absolutely loved the play..
You and your fellow cast members were wonderful. I'm so happy to see you playing a role with such depth, light and shade. Congratulations Emily on a great job.
I loved the writing of the piece too, it felt very much from the heart and sadly so reflecting what's going on in Gaza today. It was such a satisfying, worthwhile and moving night at the theatre." - Casting Director
THEATRE
TALES OF A CITY BY THE SEA ★★★★ Samah Sabawi
La Mama Courthouse, until November 23
Star-crossed lovers Jomana (Nicole Chamoun) and Rami (Osamah Sami) face a hopeless impasse. The Palestinian cause brings together the Gazan journalist and the American-born Palestinian doctor, but is also what threatens to keep them apart.
Like recent Palestinian film Omar (2013), many artists are exploring the current state of the conflict through the frame of divided young love. This is a generation who've grown up under various states of occupation, with internet access allowing them to interact with the world beyond their borders.
Some of playwright Samah Sabawi's poetry is heavy-handed, but there are raw emotions propelling the drama. Director Lech Mackiewicz extracts moving performances from a large cast, with singer Aseel Tayah's wistful dirge echoing throughout.
Sabawi's nuanced exploration of the myriad ways the occupation affects Palestinians at home and abroad could only be drawn from first-hand experiences. Those who've managed to escape find themselves suspended between two worlds, while for those who stay their roots are one of the only things they have left.
Set during the 2008 Gaza war, the play speaks to this year's hostilities just as strongly. Sabawi's focus extends beyond the political to people battling for normalcy – and managing to find humour – when the future is so uncertain. Funerals and marriages become a part of daily life.
Jomana finds solace from documenting the bloodshed.
"One more dead baby and the world will rise," she prays.
Despite its flaws, this gripping play is an act of resistance that implores its audience to take heed.
Comments:
"Having just flown in from Tel Aviv, the authenticity of the characters played by the actors was breathtaking. I could have sworn that Lama was the check out girl at our local supermarket and that Jumana was sitting at the table next to us at a wedding we attended in Jericho..... Emily Coupe as Lama, the chatterbox cousin, with her sexy tight jeans and hijab could be any Palestinian teenager shopping in Ramallah or on the streets of Jaffa, texting as she walks and gossips with her friends." - The Blog: The Australian Jewish Democratic Society, written by Ann Fink.
"Thanks so much for inviting me last night, I absolutely loved the play..
You and your fellow cast members were wonderful. I'm so happy to see you playing a role with such depth, light and shade. Congratulations Emily on a great job.
I loved the writing of the piece too, it felt very much from the heart and sadly so reflecting what's going on in Gaza today. It was such a satisfying, worthwhile and moving night at the theatre." - Casting Director
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