Come, oh you patients, broken or whole, awake or asleep, hot with fever or cold with fear… and hear the amazing story of the boy in Bed # 12. While the doctors were out and while you were all crying aakkhhh and eekkhhh he whispered his story to me.
Come, oh students of Hebron… and hear the amazing story of Hameed… the boy with a difficult life… the boy with imagination…. the boy who reinvents his life so that it becomes bearable.
“Bed # 12” is inspired by the characters and the situations from 6 stories of Palestinian writer Ghassan Kanafani. These stories are: The Death of Bed # 12; The Cake Vendor; In My Funeral; The Vipers Thirst; Eight Minutes; and Pearls on the Sidewalk.
The Actors
Hameed (Bed 11) – Abdel Razeq Abu Mayzar
Ghassan (Bed 10) – Hamdi Al Muhtasib
Doctor – Samih Natsheh
The Teacher – Ala Al Barbarawi
Naim (Bed 14) – Fadi Fanoun
Abu Naim, the Drummer – Farraj Al Muhtasib
Mohammed Ali Akbar (Bed 12) – Shihab Zahdeh
Taysir (Bed 13) – Yusef Saed
The Man without His Keys – Anan Al Barbarawi
The Boy with the Stomach Ache (Bed 9) – Rashad Al Kuwasmi
The Team
Directed by Ihab Zahdeh
Written and Adapted for the Stage by Jackie Lubeck (based on 6 stories by Ghassan Kanafani)
Assistant Director – Mohammed Titi
Translated by Amer Khalil & Pauline Nunu
Music Selected by Ihab Zahdeh & Hammam Amro
Design by Jackie Lubeck
Technician – Hammam Amro
Hebron Administration – Janan Shabaneh
The Boys in the Play
The 10 boys acting in “Bed # 12” come from Halhoul and Hebron. They are between the ages of 11- 17 years old. Their interest in theatre began when they participated in a drama workshop and decided that they wanted to continue to make a play. The Hebron boys all go to Ibn Rushd School. The school is known to be difficult: It is an old school and there is no hall. It was the new headmaster whom we approached and he organized 17 students to participate in the preparation phase of the work. Of the 17, there were 7 who continued with the rehearsals and performances. Regarding the Halhoul boys, these are 3 boys who saw TDP’s production of “The Walking Boy” during school. After the performance they told Ihab that they wanted to be in a play. When Ihab started the preparation, he called these 3 kids from Halhoul and they joined. Of these 3, all stayed for the rehearsals and performances.
The Parents of the Boys in the Play
It was the opening! The young players had been working for over 3 months. Their parents could not imagine what it was that was keeping their kids away from television and keeping them so very busy adjusting their school studies with this ‘other’ program. What was going on that was so very demanding?! For the opening show, half the audience was youth and the other half was their parents and relatives. At the end of the show, we knew that the parents finally understood what it was all about. It was not only the roar of applause but the total appreciation of the gift given to them by their children. They understood the value of the work.
