Application 39 (For the 2048 Gaza Summer Olympics) at PalArt Festival Review
Photo by Kilyan Sockalingum
Written by Bronagh for Theatre & Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review
Application 39 by Ahmed Masoud is one of four shows showing at Theatre Technis as part of the PalArt Festival, a strand of the Shubbak Festival. Application 39 describes itself as a black comedy, imagining a Gaza in the not too distant future being successful in its bid to host the Olympics.
We enter Theatro Technic to a bare stage, not one prop in sight. We meet Salma, Rayaad, the President and his deputy Lama as they come to terms with the realisation that Gaza has won the Olympic bid. A logistical nightmare for all involved – where on earth can they build a stadium or find space for water sports? We scratch our heads, wondering how on earth this can even come to fruition. Application 39 is entertaining, poignant and allows the tiniest, faintest glimmer of hope to float around the room.
Application 39 is told through a series of flashbacks and present time, Lama is often a voice of reason and narrator. We soon learn that eleven-year-olds Salma and Rayaad have completed the application for Gaza to host the 2048 Olympics, forging the President’s signature. A great concept, however, I didn’t feel like the storytelling was very clear. Given that this is a relatively short show, I would have preferred for this to be slicker. There’s a hint towards Salma and Rayaad being ghosts, children killed in an airstrike. This isn’t confirmed, leaving it to our own perception, but it does have the potential to be an interesting plot device.
Masoud himself grew up in Jaballa Refugee Camp, living in Palestine until he moved to London in 2002; his experiences come through in the script, bringing a stark reality to the blackout and airstrike scene. The cast all do a remarkable job of telling this story, really doing Masoud’s script justice. Salma and Rayaad bring comedic energy, some sunshine in the darkness. Rayaad’s retelling of being held by Israeli forces was exceptionally powerful, the sheer emotion spilling out.
A quick note on the venue now. This was my first trip to Theatro Technis – unbelievable considering I used to work over the road. This is a lovely venue with a particularly lovely ambience. If you do visit, please bear in mind you do exit through a small housing estate and so to ensure any noise or disruption is kept to a minimum whilst leaving.
Theatre is so important in speaking out on social justice and issues, both past and very much in the present, conveying extremely important messages. In terms of the ongoing conflict, all you have to do is scroll Instagram to see what Palestinians are enduring at the hands of Israel, and that’s without thinking about the last seventy years of suffering. Application 39 touches on the rubble, the amputees, and families being torn apart. The hope of a reconstructed Palestine in the years to come remains in my mind, with Application 39 bringing this hope whilst never once diminishing the pain and suffering of the Palestinian people.
Application 39 plays at Theatro Technis on the 31st May and 1st June 2025.
★★★★
