Conversations, dispatches and ideas from the Bush Theatre.
Did you know Nassim means ‘breeze’ in Farsi? From Iranian playwright Nassim Soleimanpour, comes an audacious theatrical experiment that explores the power of language to unite us in unknown, uncertain times.
For each performance, a different cultural figure will join Nassim on stage to perform his new work. Performers for the London run in July 2017 will include: British-Egyptian actor and activist Khalid Abdalla (The Kite Runner, United 93), actor Vivienne Acheampong (City of Glass, Rainbow Class), playwright and screenwriter Alexi Kaye Campbell (Apologia, Woman in Gold), director Phelim McDermott (Akhnaten, A Christmas Carol), writer and performer Sabrina Mahfouz (With a Little Bit of Luck, Breaking the Code) and actor Hattie Morahan (Anatomy of a Suicide, A Doll’s House).
The world-premiere of Nassim is in our Studio 25-29 July 2017. Find out more and book here. Casting for the Edinburgh run at the Traverse Theatre (3-27 Aug 2017) to be announced.
Alexi Kaye Campbell
Alexi was born and brought up in Athens, Greece, studied at Boston University and trained at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Arts in London. Before turning to writing Alexi worked as an actor for many years.
His work as a playwright includes The Pride (Royal Court Theatre and Trafalgar Studios), Apologia (The Bush), The Faith Machine (Royal Court), Bracken Moor (Shared Experience at The Tricycle Theatre), Sunset at the Villa Thalia (National Theatre.) A revival of Apologia is currently on at the Trafalgar Studios in London. Alexi wrote the film Woman in Gold starring Helen Mirren and is currently working on two feature films and a new play.
Hattie Morahan
Hattie Morahan’s work in theatre include Anatomy of a Suicide (Royal Court), The Changeling (Sam Wanamaker playhouse), A Doll’s House (Young Vic/West End/BAM, NYC), The Dark Earth and the Light Sky (Almeida), Plenty (Sheffield Crucible), The Real Thing (Old Vic), The Seagull, Three More Sleepless Nights, Time and the Conways, …some trace of her, Iphigenia at Aulis, Power (National Theatre), The Family Reunion (Donmar), The City (Royal Court).
On screen, her work includes Inside Number 9, My Mother and Other Strangers, Beauty and the Beast, Ballot Monkeys, Mr Holmes, Alice Through the Looking Glass, The Outcast, Arthur and George, Outnumbered, The Bletchley Circle, Eternal Law, Money, Bodies, Marple, The Bank Job, The Golden Compass, Summer in February and Sense and Sensibility.
Hattie won both the Evening Standard Theatre Award 2012 and the Critics’ Circle Best Actress Award 2013 for her performance as Nora in A Doll’s House.
Khalid Abdalla
Khalid Abdalla’s most recent film, In The Last Days of the City, directed by Tamer El Said, premiered at last year’s London Film Festival. Khalid was a central part of Jehane Noujaim’s Oscar- and Emmy-nominated documentary The Square (Al Midan). He is a producer on the upcoming feature documentary The Vote by Hanan Abdalla and Cressida Trew. He is also a founding member of the Mosireen Collective, an independent Citizens’ Journalism Lab, and Cimatheque, Egypt’s first independent film centre dedicated to celebrating film from the region and beyond.
Previous screen work includes: Assassin’s Creed, directed by Justin Kurzel for New Regency; Our Kind of Traitor, directed by Susanna White for Potboiler Productions; The Narrow Frame of Midnight, directed by Tala Hadid for Autonomous; Green Zone directed by Paul Greengrass for Working Title; the Oscar-nominated The Kite Runner, directed by Marc Forster for Dreamworks and the Oscar-nominated United 93, directed by Paul Greengrass for Working Title.
Sabrina Mahfouz
Sabrina Mahfouz was raised in London and Cairo. Her work includes the plays Chef, With a Little Bit of Luck, Clean, Battleface and the love i feel is red; the poetry collection How You Might Know Me; the literary anthology The Things I Would Tell You: British Muslim Women Write and the BBC shows Breaking the Code, Railway Nation: A Journey In Verse and We Are Here. She received a Fringe First Award for Chef and won a Sky Arts Academy Poetry Award.
Phelim McDermott
Phelim is a founder member of Improbable and co-artistic director. Improbable company credits include 70 Hill Lane, Lifegame, Animo, Coma, Spirit, Sticky, Cinderella, The Hanging Man, Theatre of Blood, Panic, Beauty and the Beast, The Tempest, Opening Skinners Box and Lost Without Words.
Phelim has also directed an array of operas such as Philip Glass’ Satyagraha, The Perfect American and most recently, Olivier Award winning, Akhnaten, as well as Mozart’s Così Fan Tutte in collaboration with the English National Opera and the Metropolitan Opera. He will be directing Aida for ENO this Autumn.
Other productions he has directed include the Olivier Award winning Shockheaded Peter, Alex at The Arts Theatre, The Ghost Downstairs at Leicester Haymarket, Dr Faustus and Improbable Tales at Nottingham Playhouse and The Servant of Two Masters, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Government Inspector at West Yorkshire Playhouse.
Vivienne Acheampong
Vivienne’s theatre credits include: City of Glass (HOME Manchester, Lyric Hammersmith), Rainbow Class ‘One Woman Show’ (Assembly Hall/ Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Bush Theatre, Camden Fringe), Monster Raving Loony (Soho Theatre), The Curious Incident of the Dog in The Night-Time (Gielgud Theatre), Elegies for Angels, Punks & Raging Queens ‘Nonkosi’ (First Light Theatre/ Criterion), Julius Caesar (St. Ann’s Warehouse, Brooklyn), Titus Andronicus (Smooth Faced Gentlemen), Santa’s Not Coming to Town (Hen and Chickens Theatre) and The Hedgehog (Tristian Bates Theatre). Her television credits include We the Jury (BBC2), Doctors (BBC) and The Aliens (Quite Funny Films Ltd.) and her film credits include Swans (National Film & Television School), Trap (Feature Film) and Black Book (Foughtnight Productions).
The world-premiere of Nassim is at the Bush Theatre 25-29 July 2017. Find out more and book here.
