Shroud Maker
Hajja Souad, an 80-year old Palestinian woman living on the besieged Gaza Strip, knows about business. She has survived decades of wars and oppression through making shrouds for the dead.
A compelling black comedy that delves deep into the intimate life of ordinary Palestinians, the play weaves a highly distinctive path through Palestine’s turbulent past and present. The Shroud Maker toured the UK as a one-woman comedy, with one female actress playing all the roles, in the tradition of a Palestinian story-teller.
The Shroud Maker was part of @70: Celebration of Contemporary Palestinian Culture, a week-long festival of theatre, dance, films and talks commemorating the Palestinian experience of dispossession and loss of a homeland. It weaves comic fantasy and satire with true stories told first hand to the writer, and offers a vivid portrait of Palestinian life in Gaza underscored with gallows humour.
Ahmed Masoud is a writer, director and academic based in the UK and author of Vanished: The Mysterious Disappearance of Mustafa Ouda. His plays include Camouflage (London, May 2017), Walaa/Loyalty (London, June & November 2014), Unto the Breach (London, November 2012 & Vienna, November 2013) and Go to Gaza, Drink the Sea (London, 2009 & Edinburgh Fringe, August 2009). His radio piece Escape from Gaza was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2011.