Join us for a poignant evening of Palestinian writing and poetry; a chance to reflect upon and honour the lived experience of Palestinians in Gaza and to raise the possibility of hope.
Featuring performances from Kingsley Ben-Adir, Maxine Peake (appearing on screen), Kamila Shamsie and Shamshad Khan amongst a host of other readers.
Voices of Resilience centres around the diary of Atef Abu Saif, Gazan writer and sometime minister of culture for Palestine, who was visiting the besieged Strip in early October with his teenage son when conflict broke out. His diaries were published in media outlets around the world, and collected together in Don’t Look Left, published by Manchester’s Comma Press last month.
Extracts from the book are interspersed with performances of Palestinian poetry, read by Palestinian artists and activists. Poets featured in the show include esteemed Gazan writers, Refaat Al-Areer and Hiba Abu Nada, both of whom were tragically killed in October and December 2023. The show is accompanied throughout by live oud music, performed by Egyptian artist Ahmad Adnan.
The show will be followed by a post-show discussion.