OR
Let There Be Light
OR is not a political play; it does not take sides.
It is one family’s lived experience.
SHOW INFO
Theatre Row, NYC
October/November 2026
OR tells the story of one woman's immeasurable loss and the devastating aftermath of the October 7 attacks in Israel. Through this deeply personal true story, the play honors those who were lost while exploring grief, resilience and, above all, hope.
The play, adapted from the celebrated short film, follows the true story of Israeli mother, Sabine Taasa, as she tries to protect her young son in their fortified safe room while chaos and gunfire rage outside. Two of her other sons are critically wounded as they watch their father die shielding them from terrorists. All the while, Sabine is desperately trying to contact her oldest son Or, who had gone to a nearby beach to fish and enjoy the sunrise. It is too late. He has already been murdered.
The narrative shifts between the harrowing moments of the attack - the confinement, the palpable fear, the unbearable pressure - and present day, as Sabine struggles to share her story with audiences throughout Europe, attempting to give a voice to her family and to the memory of her son. The play reveals not only the raw moments of survival and grief, but also the tension between privacy and public scrutiny - all framed in the sheer power of human resilience.
Testimonials
“What makes OR so unsettling and artistically impressive is that it refuses to reduce the horror to a headline. It grants full human depth to those on screen, not as symbols.”
- Haaretz
“OR provides a micro slice of a many-sided macro massacre, putting an emphasis on experiential terror and, in doing so, celebrating the understated heroism of mothers, children, fathers, and friends who looked out for each other (frequently at great risk to their own safety) in unholy circumstances.”
- THEBEAST
Playwright & Director
Yonatan Esterkin - After a 25-year career as a writer, director, public speaker and professor of theatre in Israel, Europe and the US, Esterkin founded and now leads The New Jewish Theater in NYC. He was also a significant artistic contributor to the Tel Aviv City Theatre, The Yiddish Theater in Tel Aviv and Haifa Theatre in Israel. Esterkin has a MA in theater research and directing.
Inspiration
Sabine Taasa is a 48-year-old French-Israeli mother and a survivor of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks. A former paramedic, she lived in the village of Netiv Ha'asara on the Gaza border. During the massacre, her husband died shielding their two youngest boys, and her eldest son was killed at a nearby beach. Despite her severe trauma and the loss of two family members, Sabine transformed her grief into a mission to share her family's story and document the atrocities. She has traveled internationally to advocate for the victims of the October 7 attacks. In September 2024, she notably addressed the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child in Geneva. During her testimony, she urged the international community to stop solely focusing on the conflict in Gaza and to recognize the trauma inflicted on Israeli children, sharing graphic documentation of her family's murder to prove the reality of the terror.