The last of 20 performances of Math Exam, The Freedom Theatre’s first children’s play that is entirely created in-house, is over. An audience of more than 2100 has come to see the play and the theatre has been filled to the brim with excited children from all over the Jenin district.
Math Exam is based on accounts by children in Jenin Refugee Camp. It centers around Kareem, a boy who lives with his family in the camp. Kareem is trying to study for his math exam, while navigating the endless circle of home, school, street that children in the camp move within. Math Exam illustrates the pressure that children feel from their families and from the schools. It uses comedy, physical theatre and imagination to touch upon serious issues that concern children. Every performance is followed by a workshop with the audience.
The play is co-written and directed by Ahmad Al Rokh, graduate of The Freedom Theatre School and resident artist at the theatre. This is his first experience of creating and directing a play.
“Through games, exercises and interviews with children I understood that their reality is very different from the adult reality here in Jenin Refugee Camp”, says Ahmad Al Rokh. “They of course know of the occupation but it’s an abstract concept. They dream of simple things: going to the sea, travelling, flying on an airplane, and most commonly: leaving school. This to me was the most interesting answer. Most of the children expressed how they dislike and fear their teachers or the teaching methods, and most of all they dislike the exams.”
When Ahmad Al Rokh grew up in Jenin Refugee Camp, theatre was an unknown concept. “Now there is one in our neighbourhood, the children grow up with The Freedom Theatre. In my opinion they are the most important audience to us. If we can find a solution to their problems through theatre, we will indirectly find the beginning of a solution to our society’s problems. These children are the generation that will lead the country one day.”