Prophet
Hassan Abdulrazzak
Prophet
It’s January 28th 2011 and Egypt stands on the brink. For Layla and Hisham, a young couple living in downtown Cairo, a dictatorial and corrupt government is only one of their problems. As the world shifts, cataclysmically, around them, some long hidden secrets threaten to emerge and tear them apart.
2.9 out of 5 based on 6 reviews
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Omniscore:
|
| Location |
London |
| Venue |
The Gate |
| Director |
Christopher Haydon |
| Cast |
Silas Carson, Melanie Jessop, Nitzan Sharron, Sasha Behar |
| From |
June 2012 |
| Until |
July 2012 |
| Box Office |
020 7229 0706 |
| |
It’s January 28th 2011 and Egypt stands on the brink. For Layla and Hisham, a young couple living in downtown Cairo, a dictatorial and corrupt government is only one of their problems. As the world shifts, cataclysmically, around them, some long hidden secrets threaten to emerge and tear them apart.
Reviews
The Guardian
Michael Billington
“How, Abdulrazzak asks, do oppositional, middle-class liberals react at a potentially life-changing moment for their country? His answer, to be honest, involves a certain amount of narrative tricksiness. But he shows how lies have a trickle-down effect pervading every aspect of a culture. He also reflects the recurrent Egyptian debate about whether the consequence of democracy may be the creation of an Islamic republic.
”
22/06/2012
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The Evening Standard
Fiona Mountford
“When Abdulrazzak squirrels us into the cramped Cairo apartment of ambitious, frustrated married couple Layla and Hisham, the drama is on much surer footing than when he hurls us, somewhat unconvincingly, into the protests outside.”
21/06/2012
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The Stage
Heather Neill
“Abdulrazzak, whose Baghdad Wedding won several awards, has employed some of the techniques of documentary theatre, incorporating testimony from protesters and witnesses. This urgent material is vividly delivered by Sasha Behar as Layla. It is here that the strength of the piece lies, despite the horribly believable torture scenes elsewhere.”
21/06/2012
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The Financial Times
Ian Shuttleworh
“When I say this is a conventional drama, I mean that there is a plethora of conventions on show here: from domestic strains and extra-marital temptations on both sides right through to a philosophical torturer who uses explanations of his own approach to disorient and pressure his victim, there is little to make this story demand a recognition of its individuality like the Cairo protesters of whom Layla speaks.”
25/06/2012
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The Independent on Sunday
Kate Bassett
“Although Behar and Sharron give concentrated performances, the script is an awkward union of vivid, verbatim accounts of the street protests, a laboured office comedy involving Layla's sex-pest boss, and a fantasy about a clichéd femme fatale who lures Hisham, a writer, to a torture chamber for his past treachery. Some potently grim moments, but patchy.”
24/06/2012
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The Sunday Times
Jane Edwardes
“Everyone in this play has something to hide — these are the complexities that interest Abdulrazzak. Layla’s relationships and Hisham’s guilt, however, are far less interesting than her gripping description of trying to reach Tahrir Square. Suddenly the play kicks into life, making the rest feel melodramatic and even tawdry.
”
24/06/2012
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