Traverse 1 becomes ‘nowhere’. “This nowhere is safe… but there exists a place in the world, now, in which nowhere is safe.” The play is written and performed by actor and activist Khalid Abdalla (‘Mnemonic’, ‘United 93’, ‘The Crown’, and ‘The Day of the Jackal’). It’s an anti-biography as Glasgow-born Abdalla, the son of dissidents, fuses the personal and political in a multimedia retelling of his and his family’s lived experience of Egyptian autocracy, the Arab Spring and counter-revolution. There’s also a defiant story here about resistance, friendship and agency. This is a visceral performance that raises questions about prejudice, justice, power and forced migration. Identity and belonging are everything. Tears stream as he talks about Gaza towards the end.

Traverse Theatre, until 24 Aug.
tw rating 5/5 | [Dionne Lackey]