New update (28th November 2025)

After so many brilliant performances in the UK, we're now planning a new run in Cairo for early February. This will be with a cast made up entirely of young people who currently live in Cairo, but who created and acted in the original versions of the plays when they were still in Gaza.

We'll be joined by the brilliant Palestinian theatre director, Raeda Ghazeleh, who has previously done inspirational work with our young Gazan actors on their visits to Jerusalem in 2019. We need to raise an additional £5000 to cover Raeda's expenses in coming to Cairo, for rehearsal space, technicians and props, and for accommodation and food for the entire team during the two week rehearsal period.

There will be two major differences with this production: Firstly we'll be doing the performances bilingually but mostly in Arabic so that they are widely accesible to Egyptian audiences. Secondly, we aim to set up a company that becomes self sufficient so that when Raeda and Nick leave Cairo in mid-February they can continue touring schools and theatres without us. The show must go on!

Please consider donating to support our expenses for what will be a brilliant new version of our amazing show!

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We are very excited to announce that Welcome to Gaza is being performed at Totnes Fringe 2025 on the 11th and 12th July, as well as in Edinburgh in August as part of Welcome to the Fringe: Palestine. We are then touring the show to London and Bournemouth! Thank you so much to everyone who has donated so far to make this possible! So far, this means we are able to cover the Palestinian writers and actors' travel and visa expenses, as well as contributing towards rehearsal space. We are now hoping raise further funds towards our goal so we are able to cover living costs for technicians and other members of our team, pay our incredible Palestinian actors and team and fund more exciting possibilities with props and costumes.

Thank you for supporting our mission to make the original Palestinian children's incredible plays a reality and tell their stories to a British audience, at the same time raising awareness of the atrocities they are still facing on a daily basis.

ORIGINAL MESSAGE:

Thousands of Palestinian children have created and performed their own short plays in English as part of the Hands Up Project's annual remote theatre competition. British playwright, and long term volunteer with the charity, Peter Oswald, has now put together 19 of the most inspirational of these plays and created a single compilation play - interspersed throughout with direct messages recently received from some of the children who are still in Gaza now.

Following a successful public reading at the Marylebone theatre, produced by Iante Roach, directed by Tanushka Marah, and featuring Harriet Walter, Alexander Gifford, Dana Haqjoo, Isabella Nefar, Laura Percival, Dave Barnstorm and Iante Roach , "Welcome to Gaza' has been accepted for the Shubbak festival, for next summer.

This will be an amazing experience for the young people of Palestine to see their plays re-perfomed in London. All that's needed is the money to make it happen..

This will be a professionally produced and professionally directed youth production and it will cost £15000 to put it on. Please support us in our mission and help us to tell the stories of the children of Palestine to the wider world.