Journalism professor, students and alumni premiere live journalism show in London
Journalism professor Sonya Fatah, journalism students, Dima Mironov, Hania Noor and Diurnus; journalism alumni, Christin El-Kholy and Laila Hashem; and Creative Industries student Maryam Sha’ka premiered their new live journalism show, Living with Drones in four shows across London (UK) in early January.
“This is a team that can kind of fly in one day [and] perform immediately the next day,” Fatah said.
Living with Drones shares the story of two Palestinians, Sondos Qwaidar and Bashar Sallout, living under Israeli occupation and the recent siege on Gaza. The show meshes factual reporting, the war-time diaries of their story-sharers and memoirs in a multimedia performance that narrates the civilian experience in Gaza and the physical and psychological toll of drone technology.
“What we’re doing is we're trying to weave a journalistic narrative into something that still feels human and doesn’t disconnect the audience from the actual on the ground experience,” said Mironov, the show’s audio producer.
The Living with Drones project was conceived of in Spring 2024, with production beginning in the summer. Fatah, with the help of the Palestinian Students & Scholars at Risk (PSSAR), was able to get in touch with the two young Palestinians, who had an interest in journalism, to share their stories. Fatah said bringing the show to London first was an intentional decisio
“London is the seat of empire and it is the city from which major decisions around the colonized world were made,” she said. “And, specifically when it comes to Palestine, London has a very powerful role in that history.”
The show’s producer, Diurnus, formerly of the TMU journalism program, began reaching out to London venues in the fall, before landing two shows with the Camden People’s Theatre and two shows at the P21 Gallery.
The team said the audience reaction was positive to the message they had brought through their four shows at Camden People’s Theatre and the P21 Gallery. A large part of the show, integral to live journalism, is the audience engagement component through a community gatherer and time afterwards to speak with the storytellers and crew.
“Live journalism creates an opportunity for a richer relationship with the audience,” Fatah said. “Challenge yourself to see storytelling done in a different way … if you care to know more about the issue of drones in particular in connection to the genocide in Gaza, come to listen … and learn what that means for you as a member of society.”
Diurnus, who took professor Fatah’s JRN 555: Live: Journalism on Stage class, said the medium was a way to move beyond the filters of traditional media forms and connect with the audience spontaneously, in a way that educates and enriches.
She said the story of Living with Drones did not finish with its four showcases in London.
“We need to continue the work because we need to continue the awareness regarding this topic,” she said.
The team is bringing their show to Toronto with live performances (external link) on Feb. 28 and March 1 at The Theatre Centre on Queen St.
Tickets to Living with Drones available here (external link) . All ticket proceeds will go to PSSAR.
