Dear Laila
23 – 25 Oct 2025
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TicketsPay What You Can
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VenueLeeds Kirkgate Market
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Running time15 minutes
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Age guidance14+
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Content AdvisoriesFind out more
Basel Zaraa (UK/Palestine)
Through the story of one family, this intimate, interactive installation shares the Palestinian experience of displacement and resistance.
The seeds of Dear Laila were planted when Basel Zaraa’s five-year-old daughter began to ask him about his home growing up. Unable to take her there, he decided he would try to bring the place to her, by creating a model of his childhood home in Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus.
Dear Laila explores how war and exile are experienced through everyday, domestic and public spaces. Experienced by one audience member at a time, Dear Laila uses the retelling of memories and tactile details to bring this now destroyed place to life.
Part of Transform 25 international performance festival: transformfestival.org
Performances at Transform 25 co-presented by Transform and Leeds Kirkgate Market.
Commissioned by Good Chance Theatre, with support from Arts Council England
Important Information
This is an interactive installation experienced by one person at a time, who sits at a desk. The work features photos, videos, and audio.
Head to the Leeds Kirkgate Market website for more information about getting to the venue.
Access
Transcript available
A high-backed chair is offered to sit at and experience the work.
We have an open door policy across all shows at Transform, meaning ticket holders are welcome to come and go as they need.
Head to Transform’s Access page for more information.
