A collection of five extraordinary plays exploring and reflecting contemporary life across the Near East and North Africa.In Withdrawal by Mohammad Al Attar (Syria), Ahmad and Nour rent a flat so that they can spend time together away from their families, but is having a space to themselves going to solve all their problems? In 603 by Imad Farajin (Palestine), four Palestinian men share a cramped prison cell listening to the buses come and go outside. Will the next bus be the one to take them home?In Damage by Kamal Khalladi (Morocco), three weeks after Youssef and Sana'a's wedding, Youssef accepts a military peacekeeping expedition in the Congo. Will either of them be the same people when he returns?In The House by Arzé Khodr (Lebanon), Nadia wants to remain in the house she grew up in. For her sister, Reem, it is filled with painful memories. Are their differences over the future of the house irreconcilable?In Egyptian Products by Laila Soliman (Egypt), Hadia is an independent woman in Cairo. Gasir is a painfully awkward lab assistant with attachment issues over his dead mother. Is he really her knight in shining armour?In 2007 the Royal Court Theatre's International Department and the British Council embarked on an ambitious project working with twenty-one writers from across the Near East and North Africa. Seven of the resultant plays received rehearsed readings at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in 2008.This volume, introduced by Laila Hourani of the British Council, collects five of these unique new voices, each posing different but equally urgent questions.

Elyse Dodgson (1945-2018) was a longstanding member of the Royal Court Theatre's artistic team - first as Director of the Young People's Theatre and then as International Director, heading the Court's International Department. She was the first director of the Royal Court International Residency, which she started in 1989, and produced the Royal Court Young Writers' Festival (1986-91) and more than 30 full productions of new international plays. She coordinated long-term play development projects in many parts of the world including Brazil, Chile, China, Cuba, Georgia, India, Lebanon, Mexico, Nigeria, Palestine, Russia, Syria, Ukraine, Uganda and South Africa. She was the recipient of the 2004 Young Vic Award and in 2010 received an MBE for services to international theatre and young writers overseas.