Yesterday, the world marked Holocaust Remembrance Day, marking the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp and honoring the six million Jews and others killed at the hands of the Nazis. Tonight, the Trump Kennedy Center will host a performance of "October 7," a play written entirely from the testimony of survivors of the 2023 terrorist attack, the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust.
Tomorrow at 7:30 PM,
— The Trump Kennedy Center (@kencen) January 27, 2026
A historic performance of “𝘖𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘣𝘦𝘳 7: 𝘐𝘯 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘖𝘸𝘯 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴” — a powerful 100% verbatim play drawn directly from survivor testimonies of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel.
Tickets⤵️ https://t.co/ymTJy6tE3D pic.twitter.com/sovV5ZfxQ4
Here's more from playwright Phelim McAleer, who knew he had to write "October 7" after interviewing a survivor of the terrorist attack.
After his first interview of a survivor of the Oct. 7 terrorist attack, playwright Phelim McAleer says he knew he had to write a play telling the true story of that day.
Following performances in New York City, the play “OCTOBER 7” will be performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 28.
“I just realized this is like a movie, a bad movie, and I knew after the first interview, we had an amazing story,” McAleer, a journalist, playwright, and filmmaker, told The Daily Signal.
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As journalists, McAleer says he and his wife were concerned that the true story of Oct. 7 was “going to be missed” and would not “be reported properly.”
“They talk about journalism being the first rough draft of history, and you know, we were just concerned that no one was going to write that draft. It was more about the journalism than anything else,” he said.
The play originally opened in New York City for a six-week run from May to June, 2024. It was the only play that required a permanent police presence for the duration of that run, a testament to the political and social climate surrounding Israel and Jews following October 7, in a city where antisemitism has long been a problem, both on and off of college campuses. Earlier this month, anti-Israel protesters descended on the Jewish Kew Gardens Hills neighborhood, where they chanted, "We stand with Hamas."
The play has no narration, no added commentary, and no political framing. It is based entirely on survivors' testimony, describing in their own words what they witnessed that day. This includes parents who hid children, the young men and women who fled the Nova Music Festival, and the brave stories of police and soldiers who fought back against the terrorists.
The New York Post called the play "spellbinding…powerful and a sanctuary for truth. It breathes life into characters that will hopefully inspire people… When you can put yourself in the shoes of what these people went through, that’s what creates empathy. That’s very important … right now in this country, regardless of your politics" and The Daily Mail said it "serves as a reminder to not forget the stories of survivors and significance of the day…..ensuring that the voices of those impacted by the October 7 massacres are not only heard but also remembered."
After its off-Broadway debut, the play toured the country, including college campuses like UCLA and Princeton.
The goal of the play, according to McAleer and his wife, Ann McElhinney, is to "lift the veil of silence" surrounding coverage of October 7. “It’s the newest form of Holocaust denial,” McElhinney told The New York Post.
“This was a huge news story [ but] we noticed it wasn’t being told,” McAller said. “Everyone had moved on to Gaza, the turning off of the electricity. No one wanted to focus on October 7 in Israel. We are journalists first and foremost and we don’t like seeing stories suppressed. October 7 is a story of humanity, surviving, and fighting back against the forces of darkness. They are stories of resilience and stories that had to be told.”
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