Tommy brings 'A Song for Palestine' back to stage
Tommy Cooke brings his emotive play, 'A Song for Palestine', back to the stage next weekend. Picture: John O'Grady
An emotive drama penned by a Ballina playwright returns to the stage this week.
‘A Song for Palestine’ was a huge success and raised much needed funds for the people of Gaza when it was staged at Ballina Arts Centre last year.
Written by renowned local playwright Tommy Cooke, the drama looks at how our Irish history, with landlordism and famine, in some ways is mirrored by the genocide in Palestine today. It looks at the devastation and futility of war - all war - and asks if war and genocide as a method of solving problems is sustainable for the future of mankind.
Tommy was inspired to write ‘A Song for Palestine’ by the story of the Choctaw Indians who, despite being of limited means, made a significant donation to help the Irish people in 1847.
“The Choctaw Indians put in an enormous effort to help the Irish and donated $147, which was a huge sum of money in 1847, to help the poor and famished people of this country,” he said.
“There are parallels between Irish history with Gaza and Palestine today and that is the reason why there is great empathy in this country.
“Any normal person would feel guilty this is happening and I began to wonder what someone so far away could do to help, if we could do something without being too obnoxious and pointing fingers,” Tommy added.
The play gained standing ovations and raised almost €7,000 for the Water for Gaza charity.
“It’s a very emotive subject and I think people were touched,” said Tommy.
Tommy was recently sent a video showing what a difference the contribution has made in Gaza.
The video motivated him to do more to lend a hand and the play will grace the stage at Ballina Arts Centre on Friday next, January 30.
“We will have about 20 people on stage on the night,” said Tommy.
“What’s happening in Gaza is such a terrible thing to be occurring on our watch,” he added.
