"The Loop" is a play on the political economy of health in Gaza. The playwright is Dr Mona Jebril. Although the play highlights important themes from Mona's R4HC-MENA research on health in Gaza, and life in Gaza, it remains a creative piece (Not a documentary)! For more details on the the Loop (credits, blurb, a disclaimer, and copyright), please see below.


1. Credits:

1. 1 Reading Director & Principal Trainer on Young Writer's Workshop: Patrick Morris (Co-director of Menagerie Theatre Company).

1.2. Reading Actors:

Actor (a): Laila Alj (acting Sawsan).
Actor (b): Myriam Acharki (acting Em Jamal).
Actor (c): Leila Ayad (acting multiple roles: Eyad, nurse, and woman queuing at the border office).
Actor (d) Shakil Hussain (acting the border officer).

1.3. Film Production:

Film recording: Arranged by Menagerie Theatre Company (Name of filmmaker: Carl Peck ).

Film editing: Dr Mona Jebril.


Acknowledgements:

The playwright wishes to thank Cambridge Public Engagement (University of Cambridge), for creating the opportunity to undertake training in writing research for theatre with Menagerie Theatre Company through THE CREATIVE ENCOUNTERS programme.

*To learn about the author's interest in research public engagement through theatre, read this feature by Gates Cambridge Scholarship: https://www.gatescambridge.org/about/... .


*******Details on The Loop******

Blurb: Sawsan, a Palestinian woman who lives in Gaza, becomes a mother after years of fertility treatment. At age six, her boy Eyad is diagnosed with bone cancer. Later on, Eyad’s father, who is a Palestinian doctor, is killed in an Israeli attack on Gaza, leaving Sawsan to take the full responsibility for their son’s treatment. Eyad becomes seriously ill and requires an operation, which due to the siege cannot be conducted except in Israeli hospitals. Seeking a permit for his transfer, Sawsan finds herself in a loop between occupation and factional politics, a weak health system in Gaza, the loss of her husband, and increased economic hardship. Throughout the play, Em Jamal, a friend to Sawsan, supports her by giving her handmade bags, which Sawsan would carry as a symbolic indication of accumulated burdens that she has to deal with. Sawsan’s story in seeking health treatment for her son Eyad is one of oppression and resilience, as well as highlighting the international community’s marginalisation and misrepresentation of human suffering in Gaza.

Disclaimer:

Although this play is inspired by a true story that happened in Gaza, and also by the author’s CBR/R4HC-MENA research on the political economy of health in Gaza, it is not a documentary of this research, or of life in Gaza. Also, the play does not aim to promote any political agenda or group. It is simply a human story about Gaza, that the reader/audience can have the liberty to perceive, as historical, real or even fictional - After-all isn’t our life a mixture! That said, what matters most for now is not what it is, but the experience, the feeling, and the message, which it is written for. But be warned, though, what is written is not always what is acted, so make sure if you miss anything, you don’t miss the “loop” in The Loop.

Copyright: The film, play script and the description of the film outlined in this space are all copyrighted material. [All rights reserved to the author: Dr Mona Jebril].