Jan. 6-7, 2025 | Camden People’s Theatre & Jan. 9-10, 2025 I P21 art gallery, London, U.K.

Living with Drones debuted at the Camden People’s Theatre and P21 art gallery in January of 2025. This show weaves the relevance of diary as record keeping amidst the onslaught of drones used to surveil, intimidate, destroy and target Gaza’s civilians.

Living with Drones takes us into the sounds of war, in particular the use of drones, and their devastating, traumatic impact on the residents of Gaza. By tying together first-person stories from Gaza with wartime diaries from storysharers, this show weaves a narrative about the use of drone technology on human lives. What international legal and human rights questions does such a consistent bombardment raise?

credits:

storysharers: sondos qwaidar & bashar sallout

journalist/storyteller: chris el-kholy

journalist/storyteller: laila hashem

journalist/community gatherer: sonya fatah

musician: maryam shak’a

producer: diurnus

stage designer: hania noor

sound designer: eric croda

audio tech: dima mironov

fact checkers: saman dara & rochelle raveendran

HQ THEATRE, Toronto, ON: Storytellers Chris el-Kholy (left) and Laila Hashem share notes from the diaries of Sondos Qwaidar and Bashar Sallout in a scene from Living with Drones on Dec. 20, 2024
CAMDEN PEOPLE’S THEATRE, London: A scene from Living with Drones performed on Jan. 7 2025
P21 ART GALLERY, London: Musician Maryam Shak’a tuning her oudh before the Jan. 10 performance
CAMDEN PEOPLE’S THEATRE, London: Storyteller Laila Hashem shares a note from Bashar’s diary in Living with Drones on Jan. 6, 2025
HQ THEATRE, Toronto, ON: Storyteller Chris el-Kholy reviews military drone spending after sifting through research on her desk in a scene from Living with Drones.
P21 Gallery, London: “You will not hear the missile that kills you,” recalls David Rhode from his time in captivity in South Waziristan, Pakistan.
Living with Drones is a brave exploration of an under discussed subject: the impact of Israel's use of drones as military tool on Palestinians in Gaza. Through testimonials, TikTok clips, and video footage, the live journalism experience helped me understand the profound impact of the drone's constant mechanical hum. I'd highly recommend it -- especially to anyone trying to gain a stronger grasp on life in Gaza over the past year.
audience reviews