Khalid Abdalla, in his writing debut, has created Nowhere, an intricate and playful solo show inspired by his involvement in the Egyptian revolution of 2011 and his experiences of the counter-revolution that followed.
From the histories of colonialism and decolonisation; friendship and loss; protests and uprising against regimes across the world; to the violence in Gaza following the events of 7 October 2023, Khalid brings together the personal and the political in an act of anti-biography that asks how we got here and how we find agency amidst the mazes of history.
Khalid Abdalla said: “When I had my first conversation about Nowhere, Egypt, where I was living, was in the heart of a counter-revolution, with a military dictatorship purging another future. Back in London I started writing weeks after George Floyd’s murder, while the world was in lockdown. And now, as we approach opening, we live in a world in which for people in Gaza, nowhere is safe, and we live in the shadow of that everywhere.
If you want to live another future now, where can you be? And how do you find it in yourself?
Nowhere is my attempt to respond to our world of intersecting crises, tracking where they live inside me, while searching for a shared space in which to explore how we got here, and what we have to reckon with to reach beyond it.
I could not have dreamed of a better creative team to accompany me on the journey of developing this project into the theatrical experience I hope it will be. Theatre is the home through which we encounter each other in a world increasingly atomised. I am beyond excited to bring Nowhere to audiences and find out where we take each other through its life onstage.”
Omar Elerian, Director: “I am really excited to be working with Khalid and an extraordinary creative team on this timely, profound and deeply personal show, interrogating themes that are very close to my heart both as an artist and as an individual confronting the complex questions around identity and belonging in an increasingly polarised world.”
Khalid Abdalla is an actor, producer, writer and filmmaker known most notably for his performances in The Crown as Dodi Fayed, Marc Forster’s The Kite Runner, and in the Paul Greengrass features United 93 and Green Zone.
Battersea Arts Centre
1-19 October 2024
19:30 (14:00 matinees 5, 12 & 19 October)
Pay what you can (£8-£24)
