REVIEW: THE FIRST YEAR (OF THE GAZA GENOCIDE IN THE MEDIA) at New Diorama Theatre 23 September – 10 October 2026
‘A sobering and moving experience’ ★★★★
Reporting ‘facts’ from warzones should be straightforward. Deaths are deaths, murders are murders, war crimes are war crimes and the incidents or numbers should speak for themselves. But language is never neutral and the validity of numbers is dependent on the language wrapped around them.
The question at the heart of Sînziana Cojocărescu’s new play about the Gaza genocide is the value of a human life, how every one should be counted equally but also how the toil of violent acts can be muted and obscured by language. Ultimately, it shows how the number of Palestinian deaths has not been proportionately reflected in media coverage.
The First Year (of The Gaza Genocide in the Media) is recounted more or less in a linear way by the cast of four, but the approach is Brechtian. There is a mix of songs, mockumentary, as well as dramatised sequences taking us through those 12 months, with Cojocărescu’s pacy direction maintaining momentum. The video projection (designed by Dan Light) keeps a running total of journalist and Palestinian losses above the striking glass-paned set (designed by Juda Akil).
The cast take turns leading the action. Luca Kamleh Chapman starts off as a gameshow-style host. Sara Masry at one point writes the equations of the deaths from each community related to media coverage with the airs of a maths teacher on the glass set. And in one of the most moving sequences, Maryam Abu Khaled plays a mother in Gaza recounting her story. But even in an age of mobile phones and social media, sharing stories and making the world hear is not straightforward.
The play cannot tell every story or reveal each document of lives lost from that very first year. It focuses on a few instances, including the murder of Mohammad Bhar and the 200 people killed in Nuseirat during a hostage rescue. The focus of the play is how the media reports these events, from individual incidents to the broader conflict, emphasising the value put on some losses over others. The role of the BBC, and what the play names its so-called ‘impartiality’, comes under particular scrutiny. The forensic research about language in media reporting is relentless.
The First Year… is not always an easy watch and nor should it be. It is an example of the vital role theatre can play, sharing stories not shared elsewhere or, in this case, usually told mainly through one perspective. It is therefore a sobering and moving experience.
THE FIRST YEAR (OF THE GAZA GENOCIDE IN THE MEDIA) produced by BÉZNĂ Theatre plays at the New Diorama Theatre until 10 October 2026
Box office: https://newdiorama.com/whats-on/the-first-year
Creative Team
Writer-Director - Sînziana Cojocărescu
Co-Writers - Hannah Khalil, Ahmed Masoud & Anonymous
Assistant Director - Hassan Al Rawas
Set & Costume Designer - Jida Akil
Video Designer - Dan Light
Lighting Designer - Jodie Underwood
Composer - Kareem Samara
Sound Designer - Dominic Kennedy
Movement Director - Mathew Wernham
Researcher - Niveen Haliqawi
Research Assistant - Donia Ashour
Consultants - Dr Mike Berry, Aseel Mousa, Dr Carrie Westwater
Psychological Support - Dr Nimisha Patel
Producer - Claire Gilbert for BÉZNĂ Theatre
Production Manager - Pete Rickards for eStage
Stage Manager - Stacey Nurse
Translators - Maryam Abu Khaled, Hassan Al Rawas and Sofia
But What Can I Do? Programme Partners - International State Crime Initiative & Shadow World Investigations
Cast
Maryam Abu Khaled
Luca Kamleh Chapman
Sara Masry
Sofia
This production is supported by Arts Council England, Public Engagement Fund of Queen Mary University, Royal Victoria Hall Foundation and Cockayne Grants for the Arts, a Donor Advised Fund, held at The Prism Charitable Trust.
Photography: Alex Brenner
