The Sky Is Safe
Summerhall and Scottish tour
2nd August-23rd September
The Sky is Safe, written by Matthew Zajac, is based on interviews Matthew did with a group of Syrian refugee women in Istanbul in early 2017. Reflecting on their challenging but relatively safe lives in Istanbul, the women take us back to the horror of living in and then escaping from the tragedy of the Syrian war. These verbatim accounts are woven around the central narrative of Gordon, a westerner who meets and exploits Amal, a refugee working as an escort, for his own ends.
Dana Hajaj played the central character with passion, force and delicacy, embodying eight different women.
A beautiful set by Nihad Al Turk, one of the very few (90) Syrian refugees accepted by Edinburgh City Council,and one of the leading visual artists in Syria, was illuminated by video designs by Tim Reid and lighting by John Wilkie, with a stunning sound design by Pippa Murphy.
The production won summer hall’s Lustrum award for outstanding performance.