Review of A Knock On The Roof for The Live Review, February 2025
"IN GAZA, YOUR FREEDOM IS ANYTHING BUT YOURS."
A review by Charlotte Mason-Mottram
A Knock On The Roof at the Royal Court Theatre is as much an experience as it is a performance. Stripped of elaborate staging, props, or visual cues, it demands that the audience engage their imagination—perhaps strategically forcing us to envision life in Gaza beyond the headlines. Without the crutch of spectacle, we are left with Mariam’s voice, words, and the weight of her reality.
Written and performed by Khawla Ibraheem, the play follows Mariam, a mother in Gaza, meticulously rehearsing her evacuation drill. The question at its core is brutally simple: if you had five minutes to flee before your home was destroyed, what would you take? Yet, the implications are enormous. The answer isn’t just about survival—it’s about identity, memory, and the cruel absurdity of deciding what fragments of a life can fit into an escape plan.
The projections on the back wall provide one of the play’s few visual elements, creating the illusion of Mariam running down the street. It’s a striking effect in an otherwise sparse setting, adding a sense of urgency and motion to an experience that could otherwise feel static.
Time itself becomes warped in Mariam’s world. At one point, she casually references “two wars ago” rather than “two years ago,” illustrating how conflict is not an event but a measure of time. War is as predictable as the weather, as mundane as a traffic report. It’s a reality that feels jarring to a London audience accustomed to treating war as breaking news rather than background noise.
Despite its harrowing subject matter, A Knock On The Roof is unexpectedly funny. Mariam’s dry wit and direct engagement with the audience create a disarming contrast to the gravity of her situation. At one point, she asks the audience what they would take if they had five minutes to flee. The responses—from the practical to the ridiculous—highlight the divide between those who can imagine war and those who live it.
Yet, at times, the performance loses clarity. The lack of clear physical differentiation between Mariam and her mother makes it difficult to track who is speaking. The play’s staging, while minimalist by design, could benefit from more precise direction to maintain its sharp emotional impact.
Still, A Knock On The Roof is a piece of theatre that will stay with me. It forces its audience to confront a reality that is easy to scroll past, to instead sit with discomfort. In a city where theatre often serves as escapism, this play demands we stay present. That we imagine. That we remember.
Because in Gaza, Mariam reminds us, “Nothing is yours.” Not your home, not your freedom, not even your time.