Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson's The Jungle returns to St. Ann's Warehouse February 18, where it sold-out its American premiere in 2018. Performances are set to continue through March 19.
Reprising their roles from the 2018 American premiere are Ammar Haj Ahmad as the narrator Safi, Ben Turner as Salar, Moein Ghobsheh as Omid, Yasin Moradi as Hamid, Jonathan Nyati as Mohammed, Dominic Rowan as Derek, and Mohamed Sarrar as Omar.
Making their St. Ann’s Warehouse debuts are Jonathan Case as Sam, Waleed Elgadi as Ali, Max Geller as Henri/French Police/Yasin, Mylène Gomera as Helene, Julie Hesmondhalgh as Paula, Liv Hill as Beth, Rudolphe Mdlongwa as Okot, Twana Omer as Norullah, Pearce Quigley as Boxer, and Fedrat Sadat as Maz, with ensemble members Fayez Bakhsh, Beko Wood, and Ruth Yeman.
The production places audiences in a faithful replication of an Afghan restaurant, "where endless cycles of survival and threat, failed social contracts, creative thought and action, and acts of compassion unfold."
Directed by Stephen Daldry (The Crown, The Inheritance) and Justin Martin (The Crown, Prima Facie), Murphy and Robertson co-wrote The Jungle which remembers the bulldozed camp in Calais. It had become home to thousands of refugees awaiting a "good chance" passage to the United Kingdom. The refugees transformed the temporary lodging into a society of its own with restaurants, shops, a school, a church, and a sauna.
Murphy and Robertson said, “The Jungle asks whether the pain of living together outweighs the pain of living alone. The dramatic changes in the world since March 2020 have given us all new perspectives on this question.”
Susan Feldman, founding artistic director of St. Ann’s Warehouse, added, “The Jungle offers a poignant response to the harm and danger faced by those crossing borders in search of safety and home. We hope the production’s return to the U.S. will sound the alarm and encourage people toward empathy, to take action on behalf of our shared humanity.”
Following the Off-Broadway run, the show will head to Washington, D.C., for a run March 28-April 16, co-presented by Shakespeare Theatre Company and Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company.
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