APEIROGON:
RAMI AND BASSAM
Adapted by Avner Ben-Amos from the novel, Apeirogon, by Colum McCann,
with Dramaturgy and Direction by Sinai Peter
January 8 – 11, 2026
Part of this year’s
Voices From a Changing Middle East Festival:
How We Got Here | Where We Go Next
JUMP to:
SYNOPSIS | CREATIVE TEAM
SYNOPSIS
A theatrically distilled adaptation of the acclaimed National Book Award winning novel "Apeirogon" by Colum McCann that tells the fractured story of two fathers, one Israeli and one Palestinian, brought together by the loss of their daughters. Despite being raised to hate one another, they find common ground in their grief and form an unlikely friendship. The novel, inspired by the real-life stories of Rami Elhanan, an Israeli, whose daughter, Smadar, was killed by suicide bombers, and Bassam Aramin, a Palestinian, whose daughter, Abir, was killed by a rubber bullet shot by the IDF. Despite their backgrounds and the hatred ingrained in their societies, the two fathers accidentally connect and, through their shared grief and trauma, recognize the humanity in each other's stories and history to begin a difficult journey of healing and reconciliation. A workshop reading presented in English following its world premiere staging in Hebrew and Arabic at the Jaffa Theatre this fall.
MEET THE CREATIVE TEAM
Avner Ben-Amos (Playwright) is an Israeli historian of education, an emeritus professor at Tel Aviv University School of Education, a playwright, and a social activist. He is an Israeli historian of education, an emeritus professor at Tel Aviv University School of Education, a playwright, and a social activist.
Sinai Peter (Director/Dramaturg) is a director, dramaturg, and actor known for The Grave (2019), A Body That Works (2023) and Crossfire (1989).
Dramaturgy
Colum McCann (Author) is an Irish writer of literary fiction. He is known as an international writer who believes in the "democracy of storytelling" and is the author of the National Book Award Winning Novel, Apeirogon.
This extraordinary novel is the fruit of a seed planted when the novelist Colum McCann met the real Bassam and Rami on a trip with the non-profit organization Narrative 4. McCann was moved by their willingness to share their stories with the world, by their hope that if they could see themselves in one another, perhaps others could too.