A sell-out success at the 2007 Edinburgh Fringe, Traverse Theatre’s production of David Greig’s Damascus, will play at the Tricycle theatre in spring 2009.
The original cast – Nathalie Armin, Alex Elliott, Dolya Gavanski, Paul Higgins and Khalid Laith – returns to the production which runs at the Kilburn venue between 3 February and 7 March (press night 9 February).
In Damascus – the oldest continuously inhabited city on earth, a jewel of the Arab world and the crossroads of the Middle East – Paul sells English-language textbooks. It is Valentine’s Day and he would rather be at home with his wife. As he begins negotiations with his Syrian contact, misunderstandings multiply until their presumptions about one another fall away and new possibilities emerge. In this city of transformations, Paul grapples with language and love, meanings and misconceptions. And as his flight home is delayed by a bomb in Beirut Airport, he begins to question whether he will ever leave.
Higgins, who plays Paul, has previously worked with companies including the National Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) and Donmar Warehouse. Gavanski’s credits include recent London hit Rock ‘N’ Roll, while Armin’s previous appearances include the RSC’s Othello.
Following its time at the Tricycle, Damascus, which marks the sixth collaboration between playwright Greig and director Phillip Howard, will tour to North Africa and the Near East.
The Tricycle is currently hosting Joe Orton’s dark comedy Loot, which opened last week. Starring David Haig, Matt Di Angelo and Doon Mackichan, it tells the story of two lads who hijack a coffin to stash the spoils of a recent heist. An unscrupulous inspector, a dubious nurse and a corpse that keeps on appearing make the situation rather tense.
MA