Ahlam’s play You Bury Me to tour UK in spring 2023

Ahlam’s prize-winning play You Bury Me will tour the UK next Spring.

Paines Plough, The Women’s Prize for Playwriting, 45North, The Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh and The Orange Tree Theatre, in association with Bristol Old Vic present the new production from 24 February and 22 April 2023.

Ahlam’s You Bury Me is a play about sex, friendship and coming of age in post-Arab Spring Cairo and was joint winner of the inaugural Women’s Prize for Playwriting 2020, an award established by Ellie Keel Productions and Paines Plough.

Directed by Paines Plough’s Joint Artistic Director Katie Posner, the tour will open at Bristol Old Vic (24 February – 4 March) before moving on to The Royal Lyceum in Edinburgh (7 – 18 March) and running at the Orange Tree Theatre (27 March – 22 April), marking the first show in Tom Littler’s first season as Artistic Director at the OT.

YOU BURY ME will be performed by a cast of six actors. Nezar Alderazi (Occupational Hazards) will play Rafik; Olivier-award nominated actor Moe Bar-El (The Jungle) will be taking on the role of Tamer; Tarrick Benham will play Osman (New Voices for a New World); Hanna Khogali (Brief Encounter) will play the role of Alia; Eleanor Nawal (Sherlock in Homes) will play Lina and Yasemin Özdemir (Angel) will play Maya.

This story is about a city. A city of exhaust fumes, drunken phone calls, first kisses, hysteria, sweat and laughter. Cairo.

Coming of age in the aftermath of the Arab Spring, six young Egyptians navigate friendship, loss and secret Grindr dates in the city that made them.

Writer Ahlam said: “In 2018, I had made peace with the possibility that You Bury Me might never see a stage in the UK, the fact that it will be seeing not one but three stages next year is simply incredible and I am elated to say the least. Since winning the Women’s Prize for Playwriting in 2020, we’ve been developing the play to tell it in this contemporary moment; a moment in which the younger generation is inheriting a world that they did not choose and are fighting to change. It’s been a challenging and thrilling process and I cannot wait for the show to resonate with audiences across the country.”

Director Katie Posner added: “The first time I read this play, I remember being gripped by the human stories that sat within its deeply political core. Its young, vibrant energy poured itself out from the page and I remember feeling so charged up after reading it. You can imagine how delighted I was when it was unanimously decided by the judges that this was to be one of the winners of the Women’s Prize for Playwriting. When I close my eyes and dream this play is going to be electric. It is fast-paced, funny and important. I can’t wait for it to meet its much deserved audiences and I hope that it will land in people’s hearts and bury itself there for a very long time.”

For more information and tickets, visit https://painesplough.com/productions/you-bury-me/.