A Knock on the Roof
A solo performance of the play by Khawla Ibraheem in cooperation with Schauspielhaus Wien, co-produced by BOW Production.
The starting point is the military practice known as “roof knocking”—a warning strike that gives civilians only a few minutes to leave their homes. From this reality, the piece develops an intimate portrait of daily life under constant threat.
At the centre is Mariam, a mother in Gaza, who repeatedly rehearses in her mind what to do in an emergency: whom to wake, what to take, what to leave behind. With sharp humour, great precision, and emotional clarity, the performance weaves everyday routines with existential questions. “A Knock on the Roof” is neither an accusation nor documentary theatre, but a deeply human perspective on a life between care, fear, and the attempt to preserve normality.
The production has been shown internationally, including at New York Theatre Workshop, the Under the Radar Festival, and the Royal Court Theatre London.
Duration: 75 minutes, no intermission.
Khawla Ibraheem – Performer/writer; organisation: BOW Production
Khawla Ibraheem is an award-winning theatre maker, author, director, and performer, born in the Golan. Her work brings together intimate storytelling with urgent questions of memory, displacement, and belonging.
She studied theatre at the University of Haifa and has developed a versatile artistic practice across writing, directing, and performance.
Her best-known works include “London-Jenin,” which won the awards for Best Text and Best Direction at the Palestine Theatre Festival in 2019; “Soon to Be Gone,” telling the story of a displaced Syrian-Druze woman returning to her homeland; and the family musical “The Story Keeper,” which she also wrote and directed. She also directed the Arabic version of Florian Zeller's “The Father,” praised by audiences for its emotional depth and impact.
She gained international attention with “A Knock on the Roof,” a solo theatre piece she wrote and performs. The production was developed and directed by Oliver Butler and produced by Piece by Piece Productions. The world premiere took place at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2024, where the piece received several of the festival's most prestigious awards, including the Scotsman Fringe First Award, the Filipa Braganca Award for Solo Performance, the Edinburgh Award of Holden Street Theatres, and the Besties' Heart Award. The piece was also a finalist for the BBC Popcorn Writing Award.
In 2025, “A Knock on the Roof” was presented at the Under the Radar Festival in New York and then taken into the regular season of New York Theatre Workshop (Off-Broadway). The production earned Ibraheem a nomination for the Lucille Lortel Award (Outstanding Solo Show), a nomination for the Outer Critics Circle Awards (Outstanding Solo Performance), and recognition from the Drama Desk Awards. Later that year, the piece was shown at the Royal Court Theatre London, further cementing Ibraheem's international reputation as a leading voice in contemporary theatre.