The single set across LaMama's The Downstairs is the Wall. Not a mock-up of the geographically impossible one threatened for the U.S./Mexico borders, but the equally controversial Israel−Gaza security barrier. A lightning rod in U.S-Middle Eastern diplomacy, in Amir Nizar Zuabi's Grey Rock, it cannot block creativity or dignity. Zuabi, who also directed his play for the newly-formed Remote Theater, provides a blast-off point for The Occupation. Part of the wall opens revealing Yusuf (Khalifa Natou), a retired TV repairman and former political prisoner, studying blueprints in his shed. Without telling his daughter Lila (Fida Zaidan) or young friend Sheik (Motaz Malhis), Yusuf is
Sunday, October 26, 2025