Search

Toggle dark mode:

Saved articles

You have not yet added any article to your bookmarks!

Browse articles

GDPR Compliance

We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies, Privacy Policy, and Terms of Service.

Safe Haven

 
Richard Beck Review by Richard Beck 3 Published: 23 Jan 2026 Arcola Theatre Show Dates: 14 Jan 2026-7 Feb 2026

Talk of genocide, ethnic groups denied the right to claim land they believe to be their heritage and the invasion of a country in pursuit of oil makes much of Safe Haven resonate with our own time.

Interesting rather than gripping

Yet it is firmly entrenched in the aftermath of the First Gulf War in 1991, the policies of Saddam Hussein and Operation Safe Haven, a diplomatic and humanitarian intervention that saved countless Kurdish lives and prevented a genocide greater than the one some claim to already have been under way.

As a former human rights diplomat in London, aid worker and journalist who reported for the BBC from Afghanistan and Central Asia, Chris Bowers is eminently qualified to write on this subject, especially as he was posted to Moscow and Iraqi Kurdistan and headed the UK office in Erbil. Translating that experience to the stage is another matter, however. Whilst his insights into the workings of those institutions are obviously authentic, the complexities of negotiations and relationships are probably not the stuff of entertainment unless there is a cliff-hanger in the mix. An excess of exposition in order to provide understanding of the situation, combined with time restrictions, makes negotiations seem oversimplified and the conjuring up of brilliant solutions contrived.

Using gauze curtains against the brick walls of Arcola Theatre’s Studio 2, designer Jida Aki, in collaboration with Samuel Owen (lighting), Ali Taie (sound) and Libby Ward (video), simply but effectively creates multiple locations and scenes of action. Two of those predominate to suggest the very different worlds of diplomats and the dispossessed.

Richard Lynson portrays diplomat Clive as a predictable, rather dull bureaucrat who finds himself challenged by circumstances and the more radical approach of Catherine, his assistant, whom Beth Burrows plays assertively and with a passion for the plight of peoples that is often at odds with diplomatic neutrality. Stephen Cavanagh throws himself into the fray as Brett, the US commanding officer, but scenes with him seem to heighten the lack of credibility surrounding interactions.

Meanwhile, on the mountains, Zeyra (Euginie Bouda) and Najat (Lisa Zahra), as a pregnant woman and her helper, depict two women struggling against the elements and the political malaise as aircraft fire on them. This adds a human, if predictable, dimension to the story. Introducing Clive’s wife into the equation, also played by Zahra, adds some domestic interest and a chance for her and Catherine to conspire against him, with shades of the henpecked husband. Mazlum Gul, making his professional debut, gives an insight into local attitudes as Zeyra’s brother and more powerfully as Saddam Hussein’s brother, despatched as a negotiator.

It’s an interesting rather than gripping production from director Mark Geisser and worthy of further development.

Amir Nisi

Richard Beck

A graduate in theology and education, Richard acted and contributed to dance, drama and music productions throughout his teaching career. He joined Broadway Baby in 2014 and is now our Editor-in-Chief. He usually disappears to warmer climes for the winter to pursue his passion for travel.

Related to this article:

Location:

Performances

The Blurb:

Spring, 1991.

In the aftermath of the First Gulf War, as Saddam Hussein’s forces brutally crush the Kurdish uprising in northern Iraq, two million Kurds escape into the freezing mountains. The world watches on in horror as images of death and starvation reach television screens.

Meanwhile, in Whitehall, two diplomats – aided by a Kurdish refugee – fight to convince the British government that it is their moral duty to intervene before it is too late. 

Based on historic events, this sweeping new play reveals how moral conviction and diplomatic resolve sparked Operation Safe Haven – the unprecedented mission that prevented a genocide.

Written by Chris Bowers, former British diplomat in Iraqi Kurdistan, Safe Haven weaves narratives of political decision-making together with stories of Kurdish endurance in a compelling exploration of courage, conscience and humanitarian intervention.

Wicked
Titanique
The Play That Goes Wrong
Popular now
Phantom of the Opera
Les Miserables
The Producers