Press Release

For Immediate Use

The Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh,in association with the British Council, presents

In Search of Sanctuary

A post-show discussion about refugee stories in ancient and contemporary culture, inspired by The Suppliant Women at the Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh

11 October 2016, 21:00 approximately – the event will follow the evening’s performance.
FREE

Photo Credit: Thomas Campean

  • Speakers: EsaAldegheri, Chair of City of Sanctuary Edinburgh; Composer John Browne; Lyceum Artistic Director David Greig, and independent curator and cultural advisor Alma Salem. The panel will be chaired by Stephen Stenning, Director of Culture and Development, British Council.

The Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburghis delighted to host In Search of Sanctuary, a provocative and lively panel discussion, which will take place immediately after the evening performance of The Suppliant Women on Tuesday 11 October.

Using The Lyceum’s current production as a jumping off point, the panellists will examine the approach to telling this 2,500 year old story with its striking modern resonance, discussing the artistic and practical choices made to both preserve an ancient dramatic artefact, while also allowing it to speak to a contemporary audience in Edinburgh today.

They will consider how this ancient story of refugees, the rights of women and the power and limits of democracy is reflected and refracted in the modern world and how it relates and compares with other refugee narratives, ancient and modern.

In the Lyceum auditorium, panellists will further debate whether theatre, a shared, live experience, has a particular role to play in telling such human stories, and discuss how theatrical fictions help us engage with contemporary issues such as refugees and asylum, considering the potential dangers encountered when theatre-makers address such complex and divisive issues and whether theatre and other forms of artistic storytelling should provide direction or merely provocation.

The panel is comprised of Economic and Social Research Council scholarEsa Aldegheri,Chair of City of Sanctuary Edinburgh, part of the national City of Sanctuary network, which aims to grow a culture of welcome for people seeking sanctuary in cities across the UK; independent curator and cultural activistAlma Salem, who was the Middle East and North African (MENA) Regional Arts Programmes Manager at the British Council from 2006 – 2015. More recently, she curated the exhibition Syria Third Space, showcasing the work of Syrian artists given grants by the British Council, which was launched in London in January 2015.

They will be joined by internationally renowned playwright and Lyceum Artistic Director David Greig, and celebrated composer John Browne, both of whom are part of the key creative team behind The Suppliant Women.

Speaking of the event, David Greig said:“We are delighted that the British Council has offered their support to allow The Lyceum to programme this special post Show talk to accompany our production of The Suppliant Women. This ancient play raises questions still unanswered to this day,about refugees, democracy, civic morality and female empowerment. It is very exciting for myself and John as theatre-makersto have the opportunity to debate these issues and how they affected our approach to this production with experts from other fields, but most exciting of all is having the opportunity to be able to involve our audience in a wider discussion provoked by the play - just as the original production would have done for the citizens of Athens 2,500 years ago.”

Chairing the event is Stephen Stenning, Director of Culture and Development, a global British Council programme highlighting cultural responses to development challenges and the protection of cultural heritage.

Stephen said:“This unique and powerful production offers a very particular lens through which to view how we currently tell and receive stories of migration and displacement, and the degree to which this ancient tale resonates in the present day. I hope it will prove to be a demonstration of how theatre can offer an opportunity to explore challenging issues fromdifferent starting points.”

The people of Edinburgh and beyond are invited to listen and join in the discussion with this free post show event and Q&A session.

ENDS

For further media information, please contact Harriet Mould on

0131 2484 822 / 0745 4816 116

Full Listings information

The Suppliant Women Post-Show Talk
Address: Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh, Grindlay Street, EH3 9AX

Box Office: 0131 248 4848

Website: lyceum.org.uk

Date: 11 October 2016

Time: 9:30pm, following the 7:30pm performance

Price: Free

Notes to Editor

Esa Aldegheri is Chair of City of Sanctuary Edinburgh, part of a national network committed to building a culture of hospitality and welcome, especially for those seeking sanctuary from persecution and war. She holds an Economic and Social Research Council scholarship to complete a PhD researching which methods of story exchange facilitate positive encounters between local people and those forced to migrate to Europe. Prior to that, she was development manager for the Refugee Survival Trust and coordinated the Making it Home project, commended by the Scottish Parliament for building dialogue between local Edinburgh women and refugee women in Glasgow via poetry-based film-making.

Esa studied Arabic at Edinburgh University and then for 12 years worked with a variety of organizations supporting migrant people in Lebanon, Italy and Scotland. At high school in Italy, she studied Classical Greek for five years, and is delighted to meet Aeschylus and his words in this context, here in Edinburgh.

Alma Salem is an independent curator and cultural advisor with 20 years of experience in producing cultural projects across all Arts forms. She sits on the advisory boards of many cultural and social development institutions and initiatives worldwide. She is recognized among the Middle East and North African (MENA) artistic community as a cultural activist, lobbying and campaigning artist’s rights and freedom of expression, for the role of Arts in social change, and for the growth and expansion of the global creative economies.

Alma was the MENA Regional Arts Programmes Manager at the British Council from 2006 – 2015. She curated the exhibition ‘Syria Third Space’ showcasing the work of Syrian artists given grants by the British Council, which was launched in London in January 2015.

John Browneis an Irish composer living in London. In the last few years, he has composed choral work for Westminster Abbey, a community cantata performed at the Southbank Centre, a hip-hop opera for the Royal Opera House, a film score for Aardman recorded by the National Youth Orchestra, worked with Punchdrunk theatre company to create a piece for Central School of Drama, made choral arrangements for the band Elbow, and taught a course called Write-An-Opera at Dartington Summer School. In 2009, he was appointed Composer in Residence at the Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery at King’s College London. He is the composer for The Suppliant Women, his second project with David Greig following the international hit The Events, which was The Guardian’s selection for Best Play of 2013.

David Greig is The Lyceum’s Artistic Director as well as an acclaimed and award-winning playwright. His plays have been performed across the UK, as well as produced and toured around the world. Plays include The Lorax (The Old Vic); The Events (Traverse, Scotland and Young Vic); The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart (Tron, National Theatre of Scotland); and the book for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory the musical, which opened in the West End in 2013.

Adaptations further include Creditors (Donmar Warehouse); The Bacchae (Edinburgh International Festival); Tintin in Tibet (Barbican, Playhouse, and UK Tour); and When the Bulbul Stopped Singing (Traverse Thetre), which was awarded the Amnesty International, Tap Water, and Herald Angel awards.

From 2005 to 2007 he was the first Dramaturg of the National Theatre of Scotland. His plays have been translated and produced in most of the countries of Europe, The USA and Canada, Brazil, Australia, Japan, and Korea.

David has worked extensively as a workshop leader on projects to teach or develop playwriting. He has a particular relationship with writers in the Middle East. He has worked extensively with playwrights in Palestine, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Tunisia, and Morocco. He also worked with April De Angelis on a major two-year collaboration between the Royal Court Theatre and The British Council. The plays produced in that project were published in English and in Arabic and have been given performed readings in New York, London, Beirut, and Cairo.

Stephen Stenning works for the British Council as Director of Culture and Development, a global programme highlighting cultural responses to development challenges and the protection of cultural heritage. Prior to this role, he was Regional Arts Director, Middle East and North Africa, based in Cairo, Egypt (2011 -2015).

Stephen joined British Council having established an impressive track record of running and programming successful arts organizations and festivals around the UK, including as Director of Edinburgh Mela (part of Festivals Edinburgh), Senior Producer of UZ Arts in Glasgow and Chief Executive of Aberdeen International Youth Festival. He is also a published playwright and theatre director.

The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. They create friendly knowledge and understanding between the people of the UK and other countries. They do this by making a positive contribution to the UK and the countries we work with – changing lives by creating opportunities, building connections and engendering trust. They work with over 100 countries across the world in the fields of arts and culture, English language, education and civil society.

The British Council’s Culture and Development agenda draws on the strengths of UK Arts, Creativity and Heritage sectors and uniquely combines it with their work in education, society and language, responding to the global challenges of social and economic development. This approach is born out of an absolute commitment to mutuality, honest and equal collaboration, long-term engagement and a deep understanding and appreciation of the local context. Their programmes employ the arts and culture to explore contentious ideas and contested truths and to safely connect with the past to explore alternative futures and to generate new opportunities. Their work encourages engagement and a strong sense of cultural identity at an individual and a community level.

The Royal Lyceum Theatre Company, led by their Artistic Director, the internationally acclaimed playwright David Greig,is a crucible of Scottish talent and the best of world theatre with a strong reputation for developing Scotland’s considerable indigenous artists while presenting the best of international drama. With a strong reputation for excellence in both classical and contemporary work, The Lyceum is committed to developing Scotland’s indigenous theatre talents and presenting the best of international drama from its home in a magnificent, intimate Victorian building in Edinburgh’s West End.

In recent years, The Lyceum has staged co-productions with Theatre Royal, Bath; The Bush Theatre, London; Nottingham Playhouse Theatre Company; National Theatre of Scotland; Citizens Theatre; Dundee Rep; Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse; Chichester Festival Theatre and the Lyric Hammersmith.

In addition, The Lyceum also runs an award-winning, ambitious and acclaimed Creative Learning programme which engages with over 16,000 young people across Scotland annually.

For more information, please visit lyceum.org.uk