Ali Barouti, Ishia Bennison, Carlos Chahine, and More to Star in GOATS at Royal Court Theatre

Ali Barouti, Ishia Bennison, Carlos Chahine, Amir El-Masry, Souad Faress, Amer Hlehel, Ethan Kai, Khalid Laith, Adnan Mustafa, Isabella Nefar, Farshid Rokey and Sirine Saba have been cast in the world premiere of Goats, written by Liwaa Yazji and translated by Katharine Halls. It is directed by Royal Court Associate Director Hamish Pirie. Goats runs in the Royal Court Jerwood Theatre Downstairs 24 Friday November 2017 - 30 Saturday December 2017 with press performances on 30 Thursday November at 7pm and 1 Friday December at 7pm. Reviews are embargoed until 11.59pm on 1 Friday December.

We will also be engaging a small herd of live Goats for the duration of the run.

In a small town in Syria, soldiers are celebrated as heroes and grieving families are nourished on propaganda.

As the coffins pile up, the local party leader decides on a radical compensation scheme: a goat for each son martyred.

Goats is a major new work by Syrian playwright and documentary filmmaker Liwaa Yazji developed as part of the Royal Court's long term project with writers from Syria and Lebanon supported by the British Council. Royal Court Associate Director Hamish Pirie (Violence & Son, Who Cares, Teh Internet is Serious Business) directs.

Goats was staged as a reading in the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs as part of Told from the Inside: new plays from Syria and Lebanon in March 2016.

Goats is part of International Playwrights: A Genesis Foundation Project with additional support from the British Council.