Go see El-Manshiyyeh. You’ll never look at Yafa the same way again

Like many visitors to Yafa/Jaffa, I have passed by the Hassen Bek Mosque on countless occasions. Surrounded now by busy roads, and with Tel Aviv’s apartment towers and hotels just blocks away, it has long stood out as a striking landmark of Ottoman-era history and architecture against an encroaching urban landscape. 

But, like many visitors, I knew very little about the story of the Hassen Bek, and moreover, the bustling Palestinian neighbourhood that was anchored by it for decades until 1948. Now, after seeing Samer Al-Saber’s brilliant new play, El-Manshiyyeh, I’ll never pass by the Hassen Bek in the same way again. 

Go see this play. Then go back to Yafa, walk around the mosque, and, as the play invites us to do, visualise all that might have been.

El-Manshiyyeh tells the story of the neighbourhood of the same name, which (with the notable exception of the Hassen Bek Mosque) was destroyed during the Nakba, when nearly all of its 12,000 residents were displaced as refugees to Lebanon, Gaza, Egypt, and elsewhere. 

Photos courtesy of Samer Al-Saber.

But the play begins over a decade before the Nakba, introducing us to a vibrant community through the story of two intertwined families. As a descendent of Manshiyyehens, Al-Saber brings an intimacy to the characters and their interactions, eliciting a nostalgic but multi-faceted sense of the families, entrepreneurs, professionals, traders, activists, and students who comprised the neighbourhood.

The next act brings us to 1948, where the confusion, fear, and disbelief of the families as they are forced to flee reflects a rawness that is inescapably palpable, especially when performed against the backdrop of the ongoing devastation in Gaza. Indeed, although mentioned only briefly, Gaza flows like an undercurrent through the entire production, infusing the Nakba narrative with a sense of urgency and deepened gravity.

But the play doesn’t stop there. While effectively ramatizing what was lost, the play’s final act offers a creative envisioning of what might have been, transporting the audience to a futuristic El-Manshiyyeh that leads in space technology and innovation. The mood-shift may feel rather abrupt to some viewers, as the scenes bring an overtly humorous sense that contrasts with the emotional weight of the preceding Nakba sequences, as well as with the more subtle levity of the first act.  

But when I had the chance to speak with Al-Saber, he told me that bringing this sense of hope into the production was necessary for himself as a Palestinian playwright, as well as for the audience, especially when writing and producing the play during the war in Gaza. And indeed, the full house at East Jerusalem’s Al-Hakawati Theatre seemed to appreciate this unexpected plot twist that transcended the expected narrative arc.

The play is expertly directed by Al-Saber with Marina Johnson, and the Palestinian cast is superb, with each actor seamlessly portraying their character across different life stages. The ensemble’s warmth and comfort with each other makes the audience want to join them in going back (or forward?) in time to El-Manshiyyeh. 

El-Manshiyyeh will be playing at the Al-Saraya Theater in Yafa on 21 August, and will soon be touring in other cities. It is performed in Arabic with projected English subtitles.

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