Details

In 1926, the nation of Iraq is in its infancy, and British archaeologist Gertrude Bell is founding a museum in Baghdad. In 2006, Ghalia Hussein is attempting to reopen the museum after looting during the war. Decades apart, these two women share the same goals: to create a fresh sense of unity and nationhood, to make the world anew through the museum and its treasures. But in such unstable times, questions remain. Who is the museum for? Whose culture are we preserving? And why does it matter when people are dying?

Cast/Performers

David Birrell, Houda Echouafni, Emma Fielding, Ali Gadema, Rendah Heywood, Zed Josef, Nadi Kemp-Sayfi, Debbie Korley, Riad Richie, Rasoul Saghir.

Creatives/Company

Author: Hannah Khalil
Presented by(s): Kiln Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company
Director(s): Erica Whyman, Tanushka Marah (movement director)
Design(s): Tom Piper, Nina Dunn (video)
Lighting: Charles Balfour
Music: Oguz Kaplangi
Sound: Oguz Kaplangi
Dramaturg(s): David Greig, Pippa Hill