We are delighted to announce the cast of You Bury Me by Ahlam, winner of The Women's Prize for Playwrighting.
Ahlam’s You Bury Me is about a generation coming of age after revolution, determined to live and love freely and was joint winner of the inaugural Women’s Prize for Playwriting 2020, an award established by Ellie Keel Productions and Paines Plough.
You Bury Me will be performed by a cast of six actors. Nezar Alderazi will play Rafik, Olivier-award nominated actor Moe Bar-El will be taking on the role of Tamer, Tarrick Benham will play Osman, Hanna Khogali will play the role of Alia, Eleanor Nawal will play Lina and Yasemin Özdemir will play Maya.
Directed by Paines Plough’s Joint Artistic Director Katie Posner, You Bury Me plays at the OT from 27 March.
This story is about a city. A city of exhaust fumes, drunken phone calls, first kisses, hysteria, sweat and laughter. Cairo.
The smoke of revolution is still in the air, but these six young people have other things in mind. Alia and Tamer must hide their secret love away from the gaze of their families. High schooler Lina contends with the escapades of her rebellious friend, Maya. And struggling to pick up the pieces after the Arab Spring, journalist Osman and dreamer Rafik face the dangers of living as their true selves.
Nezar Alderazi trained as an actor at AUC in Egypt and at East 15 Acting School in the UK. Theatre includes: Occupational Hazards (Hampstead Theatre), The Outsider (The Coronet Theatre), Waiting for Godot (Falaki Theatre, Egypt). Television includes: The Looming Tower, Casualty, The B@it. Film includes: The Mauritanian, David French is a Piece of Shit and I Want Him Dead. Radio includes: The Sandman: Act 2, Moby Dick, Arabian Nights Parts 1 & 2.
Moe is an Olivier-award nominated actor originally from Iran.Theatre includes: Every Day I Make Greatness Happen (Hampstead Theatre), The Jungle (West End), Welcome to Iran (Theatre Royal Stratford East), Lockdown and All That/The Monster Inside (Tara Theatre), Moormaid (Arcola Theatre), Punk Rock (Courtyard Theatre), Awkward Silence (Sadler’s Wells).Television includes: The Peripheral (Amazon Prime), Tehran and Invasion (Apple TV), Dinner with the Parents (Amazon Freevee), Honour and Count Abdulla (ITV), The Bureau (Canal+), Snatch (Crackle), PhoneShop (Channel 4), Black Mirror (Netflix), Tyrant (FX). Film includes: Femme, Zero, Austenland, Mitra.
Tarrick trained at The Arts Educational Schools London. Theatre includes: New Voices for a New World (Oxford Playhouse), Demonstration (Southwark Playhouse), White Horses (Northern Stage, Newcastle), Dr Blighty (Brighton Dome), Mindwalking (UK tour), Heart (UK tour), We Gamble Responsibly (Pleasance Theatre, London), The Emperor’s Lost Gem (Luton Arts Centre), Casino Royale (Secret Cinema), A Gym Thing (Edinburgh Festival Fringe), 7 Jewish Children (Brighton Festival). Television includes: Snatch, EastEnders, The Royals, Drifters, Holby City, Coronation Street, Hollyoaks, Doctors. Film includes: Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, Swimming with Men, Involuntary Activist, The River, For the Best, Domestik, Mankurt. Radio includes: Pride & Prejudice.
Hanna trained at Guildford School of Acting. Theatre includes: Britannicus (Lyric Hammersmith), 71 Coltman Street (Hull Truck), Brief Encounter (The Watermill), Once (UK tour), Swallows and Amazons (York Theatre Royal), Moll Flanders (Mercury Theatre), Good Fit (Southwark Playhouse), The Lost Ones (Bush Theatre), The Collection (The Wallace Collection), Rags (Hope Mill – UK Premiere), Broken Wings (The Other Palace) and Daisy Pulls it Off (Charing Cross Theatre).
Eleanor Nawal is a British Egyptian actor and writer from London. Theatre includes: Sherlock in Homes and Sherlock in Homes 2 (Bristol Old Vic/Wardrobe Theatre), Polly: the Heartbreak Opera (Sharp Teeth Theatre, UK tour), Underwater Love (Futures Theatre). Television includes: Launderette (BBC pilot), A Whole Lifetime (BBC/Netflix), The Full Monty (Disney+), Somewhere Boy (Channel 4), Pls Like (BBC), The Alienist (Paramount), Urban Myths (Sky).
Yasemin trained at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, graduating in 2020. Theatre includes: Angel – Offies Award nomination (UK tour), Dance to the Bone (Sherman Theatre), Living Newspaper (The Royal Court), We Need to Talk About Grief (Donmar Warehouse), Romeo & Juliet (New Theatre Cardiff/Theatr Clwyd), Pride and Prejudice (Artistic License). Television includes: A Spy Among Friends (ITV), Vandullz (BBC). Film includes: Yummy Mummy, Patrick. Radio and voice over credits include: With Great Pleasure: Michael Rosen and English Rose (BBC Radio 4), In Search of Captain Cat (BBC Radio Wales) and Warhammer 40,000: Darktide (Fatshark/Molinaire).
A co-production with Paines Plough, The Women’s Prize for Playwriting, 45North and The Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh, in association with Bristol Old Vic.
BOOK TICKETS
The play will also be available to watch online from home via OT On Screen.
Available to stream on demand at a time that suits you anytime between 7.30pm BST on 25 April 2023 and 11.59pm BST on 28 April BOOK HERE
Image by Rebecca Need-Menear
