Supported by Creative Scotland, the National Theatre of Scotland, and the William Syson Foundation.
Cast: Raghad Chaar
Director: Shilpa T Hyland
Writer & Producer: Mariem Omari
AV Designer: Lewis Den Hertog
Set Designer & Costume: Jen McGinley
Lighting Designer: Benny Goodman
Composer: Niroshini Thambar
Sound Designer: Nik Paget-Tomlinson
Stage & Production Manager: Katy Steele
Dramaturg: Katherine Mendelsohn
AV Support: Andy Reid
Producer Support: Jana Robert
Photography: Mihaela Bodlovic
Design: Ross Carmichael
PR Consultant: Sharon McHendry
Marketing Advisor: Leila Talmadge
Revolution Days is based on a true story. The real names, and identifying details have been changed to protect the individual identities.
Biographies
Raghad Chaar
Raghad is of Syrian descent and was raised in Edinburgh from the age of two. After studying acting at Telfrod College, Raghad received a place at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland where she trained in BA Acting. Her first role out of drama school was Mary Queen of Scots in 'Mary, the Last Farewell'. Shortly after moving to London, Raghad was cast in 'How to Hold your Breath' at the Royal Court starring Maxine Peake. Her first television role was in Peter Kosminsky's 'The State' which lead to Raghad being cast in the BBC and Netflix drama 'Collateral' directed by S.J. Clarkson and starring Carey Mulligan. In 2019 Raghad was on the London stage again, this time at the Bridge Theatre in 'Two Ladies' directed by Sir Nicholas Hytner and starring Zoë Wanamaker. Most recently she can be seen in 'Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker' and Billie Piper's 'I Hate Suzie' on Sky Atlantic. 'Adnan' a short film in which Raghad plays a leading character, has been touring the world in the festival circuit and has 24 laurels thus far. The film has also managed to raise over £25k for the charity Choose Love. Over lock down Raghad started script writing and is excited to be creating her own work for the big screen.
Lewis Den Hertog
Lewis is an audio-visual designer, artist and composer based in Glasgow. He has worked on numerous productions over the past ten years for a broad range of UK theatre companies. Recent productions include: 'We Are In Time', directed by Stewart Laing in collaboration with the Scottish String Ensemble in 2020, and 'The Panopticon', adapted by Jenni Fagan from her award winning novel and directed by Debbie Hannan for the National Theatre of Scotland in 2019. Lewis is a member of theatre company groupwork, and co-created their Fringe First Award-winning debut The Afflicted in 2019.
Benny Goodman
Benny is a freelance lighting designer and creative collaborator, based in Glasgow. He has worked in theatres across the UK in a variety of projects and productions, and is a creative collaborator with theatre company, Wonder Fools.
Selected credits include: Meet Jan Black (Ayr Gaiety); Maim (Tron Theatre); I Can Go Anywhere (Traverse Theatre); The Drift (National Theatre of Scotland); The Afflicted (Summerhall); Act of Repair (Scottish Youth Theatre National Tour); Country Music (Omnibus Theatre); 549: Scots of the Spanish Civil War (UK Tour); The Mistress Contract (Tron Theatre); Daddy Drag (Assembly Roxy); Where We Are: The Mosque (Arcola Theatre, London); Sorella Mia (The Place, London); Disarming Reverberations (St Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh); Heroines (Theatre Gu Leor, Stornoway); Humbug (Tramway, Glasgow); Snow Queen (Associate - Dundee Rep Theatre); Like Animals (Tron Theatre); Ayanfe Opera (Bridewell Theatre, London) Lampedusa (Citizens Theatre); Circle of Fifths (Tron Theatre/Cockpit Theatre London).
Shilpa T Hyland
Shilpa graduated from the MA in Classical and Contemporary text at the Royal Conservatoire Scotland in 2017. She has a first-class degree in Theatre Studies and English Literature from Glasgow University and the University of California, Davis.
Recent work includes: Directing We’ll Meet in Moscow (Traverse Theatre), Roxana (Paisley Book Festival/Renfrewshire leisure), and How to Disappear Completely and Never be Found (Royal Conservatoire Scotland), Associate Directing Still (Traverse Theatre), and Pride and Prejudice (Sort Of) (Blood of the Young, The Lyceum Theatre & others), and assistant directing Crocodile Fever (Traverse Theatre, JMK regional bursary, funded by the Leverhulme Trust Arts Scholarships Fund). She was the inaugural winner of the Horsecross Trust Young Director Award, for which she directed a production of Miss Julie in February 2019.
Jen McGinley
Jen is a designer for performance from Glasgow and was awarded the Linbury Prize for Stage Design in 2015. Designs include Distance Remaining (Helen Milne Productions), Fibres (Stellar Quines & Citizens Theatre), Maim (Theatre Gu Leòr), I Can Go Anywhere (Traverse), Cinderella (Not Too Tame), If You’re Feeling Sinister (Avalon/BBC Arts/Tron Theatre); Interference (National Theatre of Scotland); Miss Julie (Perth Theatre); Under Milk Wood, A Song for Ella Grey (Northern Stage); The Hour We Knew Nothing of Each Other (Royal Lyceum Theatre); Fat Blokes (Scottee/The Southbank Centre); Secret Life of Humans (New Diorama); Who Cares (LUNG); The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Tortoise (National Youth Theatre) and Ring Ring (Gate Theatre).
Katherine Mendelsohn
Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres for work with Francophone writers on UK stages. Based in Glasgow, Katherine works as a dramaturg and as a translator of francophone plays into English. Recent dramaturgy includes development on Mariem Omari’s Revolution Days (Bijli Productions during residency at National Theatre of Scotland); and development on Sylvia Dow’s Woman Walking (Sylvian Productions). Translations include work by writers from Belgium, France, Libya, Québec and Togo. Currently translating a French classic, supported by a Small Grant from the Tom McGrath Trust. International Literary Associate & then Literary Manager, Traverse Theatre, 1999-2012. Before that, Literary Manager, The Gate, London, and assistant to John Barton, Royal Shakespeare Company.
Mariem Omari
Having grown up in Australia, Mariem moved to her father’s homeland in the Middle East to work as a humanitarian. This inspired her ongoing commitment to promoting stories that strengthen the voice for equality. Her next move was to her mother’s homeland – Scotland – where she has been working closely with ethnically diverse communities to explore issues often considered taboo. This has led to the creation of her socially engaged theatre and projects including If I Had A Girl…, One Mississippi, and A Knot A Day, that explore issues such as migration and displacement, honour violence, and mental health. Her writing also spans essays and creative non-fiction, and she continues to work internationally training Women Human Rights Defenders in the Middle East and North Africa. Her new play, Revolution Days, about her experiences as an Aid Worker, will showcase in 2021; and her new audio piece The Jinn in Me about Jinn beliefs and their impact on mental health will broadcast on BBC platforms in 2021.
Nik Paget-Tomlinson
Nik Paget-Tomlinson is a musician, composer and sound designer, creating work for theatre, dance and film. He is an associate artist with Platform Theatre and a regular live accompanist at Dancebase, Scotland’s National Centre for Dance. Nik has worked with a range of theatre and dance companies including Grid Iron, National Theatre of Scotland, Curious Seed, Imaginate, Cultured Mongrel Dance Theatre, Starcatchers and TAG Citizens Theatre. Credits include Doppler (Grid Iron Theatre Company) Niqabi Ninja (Independent Arts Projects) Hindu Times (Royal Lyceum /Pitlochry Theatre/Naked Productions), Mixed Up (Co-Commissioned and Produced by Imaginate and Starcatchers) As.Was.Could Be (Cultured Mongrel/Mara Menzies), Vent (SYT National Ensemble) Chronicles (National Theatre of Scotland/Project X/Thulani Rachia) Drift (Vision Mechanics).
Katy Steele
Having toured with Scottish Dance Theatre as Stage Manager from 2015 to 2017, Katy moved to Edinburgh and went freelance. She continued to tour nationally and internationally with companies such as Fish & Game, The Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh, Edinburgh Science, Ailie Coen Puppet Maker, and Barrowland Ballet. During the lockdown in Scotland, she worked with MoonSlide, Ben Harrison, and the Edinburgh International Children's Festival on separate projects which aimed to create and share theatre safely during the pandemic. Since we have been able to welcome audiences back to theatre she has enjoyed working on productions with Grid Iron and Scottish Dance Theatre, and now with Bijli Productions.
Niroshini Thambar
Niroshini is a musician, composer and sound designer collaborating with a range of companies and artists across Scotland and beyond on productions and residencies. She works across live theatre, audio drama, installation, and film, and has previously been a session musician on violin and keyboards, performing on the UK live circuit and on album recordings. Recent work includes Composer/Sound designer for the audio-poetry work 'The Girls that Hide and Seek' (Rupinder Kaur/BBC New Creatives/Rural Media), Composer for the documentary film in development 'The Album' (BofA Productions) from filmmaker Sana Bilgrami, Series Composer for 'United Kingdoms' (a BBC Radio 4 commission), and Associate Director for the outdoor audio-led production 'Niqabi Ninja' by Sara Shaarawi (Independent Arts Projects).
The production thanks…
Steven Hart, the National Theatre of Scotland, Kelvin Pocket Café, Dr Simon Murray and the University of Glasgow, Steven Aitken, Arbikie Distilling Ltd., and Grid Iron Theatre Company, Billy Watt, Rebecca Robin, Heloise Bernard, Elaine Coyle at the Citizens Theatre.
