The Royal Court Theatre releases audio play A History of Water in the Middle East

Photo credit: Niall McDiarmid

Sabrina Mahfouz’s A History of Water in the Middle East has been made available as a free audio play by the Royal Court Theatre.

Directed by Stef O’Driscoll, original cast members from the 2019 production, Laura Hanna, David Mumeni and Sabrina Mahfouz perform with musician/composer Kareem Samara, featuring sound design by Dominic Kennedy.

British-Egyptian Sabrina Mahfouz grew up with ambitions of being a spy. She has two passports, speaks two languages and has a cultural understanding of two very different countries. But when it came to applying for MI6, it turned out she wasn’t quite British enough.

A History of Water in the Middle East she’s on her own intelligence mission – to explore who really holds the power in and over the Middle East. In a world long obsessed with access to oil, will water soon become the natural resource that dictates control, or has it been all along?

Journeying across twelve different countries, this audio production uses theatre, poetry and music to share stories of women across the continent. From the British Imperialist ownership of natural resources, to the environmental urgency of the present, water has shaped lives, policies and fortunes - and it will shape all of our futures.

The audio play is available to listen to now until Saturday 30 January 2021 via the Royal Court Theatre’s podcast channel here. Whilst the content is free, viewers are encouraged to pay-what-they-can with all proceeds going directly to the brilliant team who made the work. Please click here to make a contribution.