Enter ghost

After a tumultuous break up, Sonia, a London-dwelling actress and daughter of Palestinian refugees, decamps to Haifa for a visit with her sister. Gradually, she is drawn into joining an Arabic-language production of Hamlet directed by the daring and charming Mariam, who plans to stage it at the separation wall in Bethlehem. As the play attracts hostile attention from Israeli authorities, and Mariam and her actors cope with financial woes, squabbling, political interference, military violence, and checkpoint interrogations, the play becomes a reflection of the chaotic oppression of the Israeli occupation and its stranglehold on Palestinian life. Sonia, an outsider despite her Palestinian origins, revisits her family's former home ("We were enacting a Palestinian cliche: coming to see the house the family had lost") and reconsiders her connection to her homeland and her traumatic childhood memories of the intifada. "It wasn't until I left Palestine that I really knew Palestine," sighs Sonia's father. For Sonia, it is not until she returns. Hammad (The Parisian, 2019) presents a lyrical meditation on Palestinian endurance, the role of theater as political protest, and the undeniable pull of home.

Hammad (The Parisian) offers a soul-stirring and dramatic tale of a Palestinian family's exile and reconciliation. Sisters Sonia and Haneen Nasir grew up in London in the 1980s and '90s and visited their paternal grandparents in Haifa on holidays, where their grandparents remained after many other Palestinians were displaced by Israeli statehood in 1948. Now approaching 40, Sonia is an actor in London, while her older sister, Haneen, lives in Haifa, one of the few Palestinian faculty members at a university in Tel Aviv. Sonia's marriage has failed, and after ending an affair, she visits Haneen. There, she meets the outspoken Mariam Mansour, who is directing an all-Palestinian production of Hamlet, translated into classical Arabic, in the occupied West Bank, and who convinces Sonia to play Gertrude. The production breathes new life into Shakespeare's text, suggesting for instance whether Palestine itself is "to be or not to be." However, funding cuts by the Palestinian Authority and draconian attempts from the Israeli government to enforce cultural loyalty hamper the production, leaving Mariam to play the lead herself. Against the backdrop of violent struggles over the al-Aqsa Mosque, and a vivid image of hundreds of Muslim men peacefully bowing in prayer in the streets of East Jerusalem when Israeli authorities close off the mosque compound for "security concerns," the troupe stages an opening-night outdoor performance. The layered text, rich in languages and literary references, dives deep into Sonia's consciousness, illustrating her hopes for what art can accomplish. This deeply human work will stay with readers. (Apr.)

An actress grapples with the political and contemporary significance of a classic tragedy. Palestinian actress Sonia Nasir finds herself immersed in an essential drama, with repercussions extending beyond the stages she is accustomed to, upon a visit to her older sister, Haneen, in Israel. The women's paternal grandparents maintained their home in Haifa in 1948, giving the family a foothold both inside Israel and in the West Bank. Haneen and Sonia grew up in London, but their annual childhood summer visits provided them with familiarity and comfort in the Arab world and knowledge of life in the Israeli state. Sonia, who still lives in London, attempts to heal psychic wounds resulting from the unpleasant end of a love affair by paying a long-delayed visit to her sister. A politically aware academic, Haneen has been living in Haifa and working at a university in Tel Aviv. Sonia has not returned to Haifa since before the second intifada and must absorb the cultural, political, and familial changes that have occurred since. Almost immediately upon her arrival, she becomes involved in a production of Hamlet put on by a Palestinian theater company, directed by her sister's energetic and passionate friend Mariam Mansour. The production is politically charged, employs classical Arabic, and challenges Sonia personally and professionally. When Sonia eventually agrees to undertake the role of Gertrude, she becomes immersed in macro and micro aspects of the production and develops varying degrees of closeness with the rest of the cast, Palestinian theater veterans all (except for the pop star slated for the lead role to attract attention to the production). A thorough and thoughtful exploration of the role of art in the political arena unfolds as Sonia and the troupe work through rehearsals toward performing a tragedy with contemporary resonance. Hammad provides a brutal update on a classic theme. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.