In Gaza, actors perform a war they are still living

Sheikh Radwan, Gaza – Before Abu Qasai Qaddoura can begin acting, he has to find something to burn.

At six in the morning, the 42-year-old walks to a stall in Sheikh Radwan, where his family has been displaced, to buy firewood. It costs seven shekels ($2) per kilogram. When he cannot afford it, he scavenges for something else to burn – cardboard, plastic or pieces of wood salvaged from destroyed homes.

He lights a small fire so his family can keep warm and cook a meal. He then washes the black soot from his hands before leaving his home for rehearsal.

The journey takes two hours on foot. Qaddoura avoids a main road clogged with rubble and where he says Israeli gunfire poses a danger, taking side streets instead.

By the time he reaches the rehearsal space – a makeshift fabric-and-plastic tent pitched in the car park of Gaza City’s Rashad al-Shawa Cultural Centre, his knees hurt and he struggles to catch his breath.

“I arrive at the rehearsal. I’m exhausted but immediately get to work because we don’t even have time for a short break,” he says.

Weary and quiet, Qaddoura sits slumped as he speaks, his hands resting heavily on his knees. On stage, he plays a doctor trapped inside a Gaza hospital. The baby doll cradled in his arms is his character’s son. There is no anesthetic. He must amputate the child’s leg himself. The baby dies.

The scene is based on the real-life experience of a father in Gaza, whose video the actors have watched.