Saleh Bakri to Lead FIREWORKS at The Royal Court; Full Cast Announced

Casting is announced today for Fireworks, a new play by Palestinian playwright and poet Dalia Tala. Directed by the Royal Court's International Associate Richard Twyman and set in Palestine, the play is inspired by recent events in Gaza and gives new insight to the impact of war on childhood. The Royal Court has been working in Palestine since 1998, the first workshop was held at the Paradise hotel in Bethlehem and led by playwright Stephen Jeffreys, director Phyllida Lloyd and Royal Court International Director Elyse Dodgson. Fireworks has been developed with The Royal Court International Department over the last two years, and marks the first full production by an emerging Palestinian playwright which has been developed and staged by the company.

The cast includes Saleh Bakri, celebrated Palestinian actor known for his roles in films such as The Time That Remains (directed by Elia Suleiman), Salt of This Sea and Salvo, Nabil Elouahabi who recently appeared in The Nightmares of Carlos Fuentes (Arcola Theatre) and played Tariq in EastEnders, Sirine Saba, recently in Holy Warriors (Shakespeare's Globe) and Shereen Martin who starred in Channel 4's BAFTA nominated Britz. They will be joined by four young actors George Karageorgis, Yusuf Hofri, Shakira Riddell-Morales and Eden Nathenson who will perform in pairs on alternate evenings.

In a Palestinian town eleven year-old Lubna and twelve year-old Khalil are playing on the empty stairwell in their apartment block. As the siege intensifies outside, fear for their safety becomes as crippling as the conflict itself.

Fireworks was developed as part of The Royal Court's international residency and is part of International Playwrights: A Genesis Foundation Project. The theatre has worked in Palestine since 1998, both running playwriting programmes and workshops throughout the country, as well as bringing artists to London.

The production is directed by Richard Twyman, translated by Clem Naylor, designed by Lizzie Clachan, lighting is by Natasha Chivers, music is by Benedict Taylor and sound design is by George Dennis.

Dalia Taha is a Palestinian poet and playwright. She was born in Berlin in 1986 and grew up in Ramallah, Palestine. Her first play Keffiyeh/Made in China was produced by the Flemish Royal Theatre and A.M. Qattan Foundation, and premiered in Brussels before touring seven Palestinian cities across the West Bank. The play was given a staged reading in July 2013 at the Mosaic Rooms in London, as part of the Shubbak Festival, in association with the Royal Court. Dalia is currently pursuing an MFA in Playwriting at Brown University and has published two collections of poetry and one novel.

Richard Twyman directs. International Associate at the Royal Court, he recently directed The Djinns of Eidgah by Abhishek Majumdar, Phil in Space by Tom Wells as part of Unusual Unions (also at Wilderness Festival) and A New Song as part of New Plays from South Africa at the Royal Court. Richard directed The Djinns of Eidgah for Rage Theatre in Mumbai as part of the Writers Bloc Festival. His other credits include Henry IV Pt II for the multi-Olivier Award winning RSC Histories Cycle (Olivier Awards for Best Ensemble, Best Revival and Evening Standard Editor's Choice Award), Ditch at the Old Vic Tunnels/HighTide, Sixty-Six Books at the Bush Theatre and Give Me Your Hand (nominated for a Drama Desk Award), at the Irish Rep, New York.

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