Tales of a City by the Sea Te Pou Theatre · Aotearoa NZ

Gaza · war · ordinary lives

Tales of a City by the Sea

Buildings fall on the news. This play stays with the people still inside: the children trying to sleep, the lovers waiting for a message to arrive, the parents counting the seconds between explosions.

~80 minutes · Ensemble English with Arabic & song Festival-ready · Intimate scale

A new Aotearoa production of Samah Sabawi’s award-winning play, staged at Te Pou Theatre and created in relationship with Palestinian artists and communities.

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The story

A love story under siege

Tales of a City by the Sea is set in Gaza during a time of bombardment. Outside, the skyline burns. Inside, people continue to make tea, joke with their neighbours, fall in love, and negotiate impossible choices.

We follow Jomana, a Palestinian woman living in a refugee camp, and Rami, an American-born Palestinian doctor who arrives on one of the first Free Gaza boats. Their love is threaded through the lives of parents, cousins, neighbours – people who are trying to build a future while the ground is being taken from under them.

The production leans into poetry, humour and quiet domestic detail, refusing to show Palestinians only as victims. It asks audiences to sit inside a living room in Gaza and stay there when the shelling begins.

“We are not a headline. We are the stories that happen after the cameras turn away.”

0 min · one continuous encounter Ensemble cast · live and recorded sound Built for black-box spaces & festivals

Children & memory

A circle of light in a very dark room

The production holds space for Gaza’s children – even when they are not on stage. Their toys and questions sit at the edge of almost every scene.

One moment in the show draws a tight circle of light around a solitary figure while the rest of the stage dissolves into deep blue. Around them: paper boats, a school bag, shoes waiting by the door.

The image suggests a simple but unbearable truth: childhood is happening inside a warzone. The scene resists spectacle; it invites a long, shared breath.

  • Play and danger occupy the same square metres of floor.
  • Memories are built from sirens as well as school bells.
  • Hope becomes a daily act of imagination.

“I collect the sound of the sea in a cup. If the walls fall, I will still have waves.”

From witness to invitation

Built for festivals that want more than statistics

As you scroll, the visual world shifts from Gaza’s burning skyline into a cleaner, festival-facing space. The story stays the same; the framing changes.

Production snapshot

  • Compact touring party with flexible casting options.
  • Works beautifully in 80–150 seat black-box venues.
  • Ideal for political theatre, human rights and decolonial programmes.
  • Post-show conversations available with artists and invited speakers.

For presenters & curators

A human-scale work with big conversations

Below you will find a festival-focused overview. Full details, technical rider and marketing copy sit inside a dedicated festival pack.

Why this work?

It offers audiences an intimate, poetic encounter with Gaza – not through statistics, but through a living room, a family, and a choice that cannot be undone.

Who is it for?

Festivals and venues programming contemporary theatre, human rights seasons, Arab / Palestinian arts, migrant stories and Indigenous solidarity.

What comes with it?

Touring team, post-show conversation formats, and a carefully designed contextual framework developed in dialogue with Palestinian and Māori advisors.

Download the festival pack

A detailed PDF with synopsis, artistic statement, technical specifications, time-line, audience quotes and sample marketing copy is available.

View festival pack page Explore production images