‘If only our bodies were bulletproof
If only our boats were made of steel
If only our dreams were real.’
Gaza, 2008. A Palestinian journalist writes poetry on the beach. A doctor must decide to stay or leave. Then come the missiles and the phosphorus showers.
This is a furious and tender exploration of the fragility of freedom. The national collides with the personal as activism and reporting take to the stage. Tales of a City by the Sea uses poetry, tenderness and humour to explore the love between those who have choices, and those who do not. Language fails us when it comes to displacement and grief; yet Samah Sabawi’s language cracks grief open and remains present, like the sea.
Tales of a City by the Sea was staged twice in 2014: at La Mama Theatre in Melbourne and at the Aida refugee camp in Palestine.
SAMAH SAWABI is an author, playwright and poet and a recipient of multiple awards both nationally and internationally. Her theatre credits include the critically acclaimed award-winning plays Tales of a City by the Sea and THEM. In 2020 Samah received the Green Room Award for Best Writing in the independent theatre category and was shortlisted for both the NSW and Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards. With Stephen Orlov Samah edited the anthology Double Exposure: Plays of the Jewish and Palestinian Diasporas, winner of the Patrick O’Neill Award and she co-authored I Remember My Name: Poetry by Samah Sabawi, Ramzy Baroud and Jehan Bseiso, edited by Vacy Vlazna, winner of the Palestine Book Award. Samah received a Doctor of Philosophy from Victoria University for her thesis titled Inheriting Exile, transgenerational trauma and the Palestinian Australian Identity. Samah has recently published the memoire Cactus Pear for My Beloved (Penguin 2024).
| Cast Info | 7F, 6M, (doubling available) |
| Genres | Drama, Poetic |
| Themes | Multicultural themes, Political/Social themes, Large Cast |
| Audiences | Adult, Primary: up to Year 6 |
| Extent | 68 |
| Edition | CTS |
| Size | 210 x 137 |