IN PICTURES: Youth theatre in the heart of Gaza

Mohammed Ewaida, 30, is a former student and current director of the play ‘The Boys Who Can’t Stand Still’ (MEE/Andrea DiCenzo)

Child actors get a chance to forget themselves in a world of play and make-believe in the production of ’Between the Desert and the Sea’, a story about the differences and similarities between people who live off the land and those who live off the sea (MEE/Andrea DiCenzo)

Full of heart and laughter while taking on a grave subject matter, ‘The Lady in the Tree’ is a play about a family convincing their mother to come down from a tree she cannot leave after the death of a child during the war (MEE/Andrea DiCenzo)

The mother in 'The Lady in the Tree' (MEE/Andrea DiCenzo)

Backstage, 15-year-old Noor, along with the other two children in the play ‘The Boys Who Can’t Stand Still’, warm up before their debut performance (MEE/Andrea DiCenzo)

Unity, love and laughter are themes that tie the play together. At the end of ‘The Lady in the Tree’, the performers laugh and play music together as the crowd claps along with them (MEE/Andrea DiCenzo)

‘These are the kids of Gaza,’ says Rafat al-Aydeh, Theatre Day Production’s Artistic Director (MEE/Andrea DiCenzo)

Theatre Day Production works with the children to teach them how to express themselves, especially in silly ways (MEE/Andrea DiCenzo)

Filled to capacity, attendees stand at the back of a packed theatre in Gaza City for the last chance to see ‘10 Ways To Know Us’ by Theatre Day Productions (MEE/Andrea DiCenzo)

The audience, eager for the audience participation portion after the play, answer yes-or-no questions from the director by raising their hands. This give the actors and director a chance to see if their theme was clearly understood (MEE/Andrea DiCenzo)