Off-B'way Review: A Knock on the Roof

Khawla Ibraheem in
A Knock on the Roof.
Credit: Joan Marcus

The most striking image in Khawla Ibraheem’s disturbing and moving solo play A Knock on the Roof at New York Theater Workshop is not the one you’d expect. In a play about life in war-torn Gaza, it’s not a horrifying nightmare of bombs falling or buildings collapsing that sticks in my mind, but a scene of children playing a game. Ibraheem as Mariam, a Palestinian wife and mother struggling to maintain her sanity under the constant threat of Israeli bombardment, describes watching a group of kids pretend to follow a coffin and imitate a military band playing a stirring tribute to the fallen dead. She delivers the shattering observation without tears or histrionics, it’s a merely a casual recording of an everyday occurrence in her city. The ordinariness and acceptance of death permeates Mariam’s existence so that it become the subject of children’s play. 

The destruction of Gaza has become a constant headline on cable news, but the average American knows little about what everyday life is like for its citizens. Ibraheem paints a vivid picture of that life, centering on practicing for what happens if a bomb falls on her apartment building and how she will deal with her aged mother and six-year-old son. A Knock on the Roof refers to a warning explosion, a small bomb, delivered in advance of a much bigger one so residents will have a chance to flee for their lives. 

In a series of darkly funny, but ultimately terrifying vignettes, Mariam rehearses gathering her possessions, carrying a pillow to stand in for her boy, and running as far as she can within five minutes. Her attitude is so relaxed and off-hand, you often forget this is potentially a life or death drill. She argues with her sarcastic mother, scolds her son, copes with restrictions on electricity and water, and humorously chats with the audience. At one point, she asks us if she should take any of the things belonging to her husband, who is studying abroad. At the performance attended, the majority voted no, to much laughter and applause.

Ibraheem creates an entire world with no scenery save for a single chair. (She debates whether of not to take it with her on her run since it’s her favorite.) Oona Curley’s evocative lighting design and Hanna S. Kim’s projection effectively shift the scene and Oliver Butler’s well-paced direction provides keeps the action fluid, which is especially important in a one-person play.

With Donald Trump’s recent surprising and absurd proposal that the residents of Gaza be pushed out in order to make way for a US-owned Riviera-style resort, the fate of Palestinians becomes even more relevant and this Knock on the Roof could not be more timely or pertinent.

Jan. 27—Feb. 16. A co-production of New York Theater Workshop and piece by piece productions as part of the Under the Radar Festival, NYTW, 79 E. 4th St., NYC. Running time: 85 mins. with no intermission. nytw.org.