The voices of Gaza’s children, and a call for collective action

Sarah Agha in A Grain of Sand: © Amir Hussain Ibrahimi

Daniel Nelson

A Grain of Sand is a short, anguished cry for help for Gazan children.

Their testimonies and poems were collected in 2023-24 and published in a booklet and have now been adapted for the stage by playwright and director Elias Matar.

It “captures the magic of storytelling by showing the world not only the horrific events and atrocities being broadcast from Gaza, but also the rich culture of Palestine, its past, its present and, hopefully, its future…”, says Matar, artistic director of Good Chance theatre, created during “the Jungle” camp in Calais. 

The 60-minute monologue is skilfully performed by Sarah Agha, a writer and film curator of Irish and Palestinian heritage.

She holds the stage for an hour, helped only by a pile of sand, a chair and some simple but powerful sound and visual effects.

She speaks as an 11-year-old looking for the family from whom has has become separated, slipping in and out of other children’s experiences — of Mishmish the cat, blood on a hospital floor, an uncle’s squeaky shoes, an annoying classmate, rain that turns out to be gunfire, old gods that nobody talks about nowaways, crying babies, an aunt’s fart-based tale, aid boxes falling from the sky, metal monsters crushing buildings.

There are smiles and laughter, too, and a brief exuberant dance: why not?, she asks, challenging the audience to admit that even in a struggle for survival life goes on, for some, and small pleasures deserve to be enjoyed.

The work is suffused by the desperate hope offered by the Anqaa, the mythical Palestinian phoenix, “above the clouds, close to the sun”. In truth, there’s little room for hope amidst such murderous mayhem, except for a cessation of violence, which Matar recognises by a final appeal for pressure to bring about collective political action to protect the children of Gaza and their rights, once and for all. 

* A Grain of Sand, £15 - £39, is at the Arcola Theatre, 24 Ashwin Street E8 3DL until 31 January. Info: Arcola

• Exhibition of Each Child A Light, an international collaborative quilt project with each square dedicated to a child killed in Gaza. 24 Jan, quilt making workshop, led by Fiona Baily, initiator and coordinator of the quilt project

• + After-show Q&As: 29 January, 7.30pm; 24 and 31 January, 3pm