A Grain of Sand
Bristol Old Vic – The Weston Studio
★★★★☆

BASED on a collection of narratives and poems from children in Gaza (A Million Kites, Maqam Books, £12 https://www.amillionkites.com), playwright Elias Matar has woven their different contributions into an eloquent and poignant story of a single girl’s flight.

Sarah Agha plays Renad, an 11-year-old, who is driven from the destruction of her home to the bombardment of the hospital where she is searching for her family, then on to the temporary sanctuary of a strafed church and eventually to Rafah camp just before it is hit by an Israeli bomb.

The loquacious, vivacious and engaging girl, who endearingly dreams of being the greatest storyteller in Palestine, suffers loss and deprivation during her quest for safety, and only by clinging to memories of family and the folklore stories of her grandmother does she manage temporarily to escape the nightmare.

The children whose words are used are credited on a tent-like backdrop in between projected images from Renad’s imagination and troubled experiences, and finally the endless list of children slaughtered in Gaza.

At the core of the one-woman show is the story of the Phoenix symbolically rising from the ashes. Renad’s desperate attempts to hold on to and make sense of this particular story is a testament to her resilience. Other tales of farts, gods and mermaids are full of a child-like fun and wonder but still reflect on the world she finds herself in. Each tale is woven into a verbatim fabric of other children’s traumatic experiences that grow increasingly dark.

Not only does the odyssey tie different testimonies together but occasional cross references link them into one nightmare experience, so the Pieta depicted on the church wall where she finds temporary sanctuary is likened to her earlier experience of watching a doctor grieve over the dying body of a young girl.

Agha’s outstanding performance as the animated Renad effectively captures the inner life of children faced with violence and loss, and is more thought-provoking than a purely naturalistic presentation of the physical effects of starvation, thirst, fear and sorrow. Instead of a harrowing hour watching the unbelievable suffering of the innocent, we are presented with the indomitable spirit of the young coping with hell.

On tour in the UK and Ireland until April 11. For venues and tickets see: goodchance.org.uk