Spring, 1991.
In the wake of the First Gulf War, Saddam Hussein’s forces in Iraq crush the Kurdish uprising and two million civilians flee into the freezing mountains. As the crisis unfolds unprecedentedly on television screens around the world, a small group inside Whitehall tries to shift policy before the window closes.
Set between the Kurdish mountains and the Whitehall offices, Safe Haven follows two diplomats and a Kurdish refugee, pushing the British government to act and prevent another genocide.
Written by Chris Bowers, former British diplomat in Iraqi-Kurdistan, Safe Haven is based on real events and explores how moral conviction and diplomatic pressure contributed to Operation Safe Haven, asking what responsibility governments bear when catastrophe is unfolding in plain sight.
Safe Haven is presented here in a new production, directed by Yad Deen.
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Running time
1 hour 45 minutes (including interval) -
Age guidance
12+ -
Content warnings
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Discounts
Concessions available
Pay What You Can Tuesdays
"A remarkable retelling of a story not so long ago when compassion and collective action aligned to change the course of history, of people’s lives; a telling reminder that individuals can make a difference"– Lyse Doucet, BBC Chief International Correspondent
The Company
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Boo Jackson
Catherine
Boo Jackson
Catherine
Boo Jackson is a multi-award-winning London-based actor with an academic background in social philosophy and socio-politics. She began acting at a young age, making her screen debut aged 9 in Imagine Me & You directed by Ol Parker.
Her stage credits include The Kennington Loop (writer/performer, funded by Arts Council England), Ophelia in TNT Theatre’s Hamlet (European tour), and the Ghost of Christmas Past in ADG Europe’s A Christmas Carol (European tour).
On screen, she has starred in projects including the LGBTQ+ short Fish, which premiered at BFI Flare, and the Royal Television Society award-winning short The Cubicle.
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Omar Aga
Dlawer / Al-Tikriti
Omar Aga
Dlawer / Al-Tikriti
After studying theatre at university, Omar took a break from acting to complete a PhD at UCL in 2025. He returned to acting the same year, with credits including The Visitors (short film), Date Me Not (web series), and The Dying Wish (Lambeth Fringe). This production marks his Arcola Theatre debut. He will also premiere his original play, SuperAgent, at the Camden Fringe later in 2026.
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Lisa Zahra
Zerya / Anne
Lisa Zahra
Zerya / Anne
Lisa Zahra is British/Iranian.
Her theatre credits include: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Birmingham REP), Snake in the Grass (Theatr Clwyd/Bolton Octagon), Odyssey 84 (Sherman theatre), Baba Joon (Grand Theatre/ San Jose State), GRENFELL (National Theatre), Trouble in Butetown (Donmar Warehouse), The Boy With Two Hearts (National Theatre) ISLA (Theatr Clwyd), Macbeth (National Theatre), Mission Control (National Theatre Wales), The Kite Runner (West End/ Dubai Opera/Nottingham Playhouse), A Thousand Splendid Suns (Birmingham Rep/Northern Stage), Before I leave (National Theatre Wales), Out Of The Dark (Rose Theatre), Death And The Maiden (The Other Room), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Torch Theatre), The Voyage (Theatr Clwyd/ Poland tour), Romeo & Juliet & Under Milkwood (CUNARD), Cymbeline & The Merchant of Venice (Wales Theatre Company), One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (Torch Theatre).
Her film and TV credits include: Crow Girl (Paramount), Phoenix Rise (BBC), Anfamol (S4C), ISLA (BBC), Requiem (Netflix), Casualty (BBC), Masked (Santa Cruz Film Fest), Dr. Who (BBC), Belonging (BBC), Nuts n Bolts (ITV), Bubbles (Feature), Twelfth Night (iMovie), Myths of Ancient Greece (Ch 5), Skellig (Sky movies), Nobody Girl (Tornado), Fairuz (Dubai Film Fest).
Lisa is also a writer, her play Baba Joon can be heard on BBC Radio 4.
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Kent Goldfinch
Clive
Kent Goldfinch
Clive
Building on a foundation of early performances in his youth, New Zealand-born actor and director Kent returned to the industry eight years ago and has since built a diverse portfolio across all mediums. His stage credits includes portraying Julius Caesar (2022 European Arena Tour), The Deceiver (Questors Theatre), and The Murder Trial Live (UK Tour). On screen, his film and television work includes the Sky TV series The Death of Bunny Munro, as well as the feature films Last Night in Soho, Bell Bottom, Makeup and The Gentlemen (now streaming on Amazon).
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Dilek Şengül
Najat
Dilek Şengül
Najat
Dilek is a British/Zaza Kurdish actor, born and raised in London. She trained at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. Her theatre credits include The EU Killed My Dad at Jermyn Street Theatre, Reasons to Stay Alive and Othello with English Touring Theatre, Cuzco at Theatre503, and Octopus at Greenwich Theatre. Her television credits include Coronation Street and No Return for ITV, and EastEnders and MotherFatherSon for the BBC. Her film credits include The Barber for Film4/BFI Network and Snake Pit for Two Birds Entertainment.
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Markus Flanagan
Brett / Ruairi
Markus Flanagan
Brett / Ruairi
Markus Flanagan is an American actor based in London. Theatre includes Down the Road (Actors Theatre of Louisville / Tiffany Theater), Bus Stop (Theatrefest), Fighting Gravity (Parnassus Group Theatre) and Bye Bye Birdie (Cabrillo Music Theatre). Television includes The Morning Show (Apple TV+), Better Things, Melrose Place, Friends and Seinfeld. Film includes Biloxi Blues and Born on the Fourth of July.
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Yad Deen
Director & Producer
Yad Deen
Director & Producer
Yad Deen is a Kurdish-British writer, director, and producer who spent eight years in Kurdistan and Iraq working as a documentary filmmaker and photographer. He focussed on persecuted minority communities, and his clients included various international foreign office departments and NGOs.
His latest documentary, Felt: Unveiling an Endangered Craft, was produced as part of the Endangered Material Knowledge Program research project ‘Documenting the Lost Practices of Kurdish Felt and Felt-making in the Foothills of the Zagros Mountains’, hosted at the British Museum and funded by Arcadia.
Whilst in Kurdistan, Yad produced and directed his BAFTA-qualified short film, Carga, which was acquired by Sony Pictures Entertainment.
Yad continues to develop films, and also runs projects supporting persecuted minorities in Iraq.
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Chris Bowers
Writer
Chris Bowers
Writer
Chris Bowers is a former British diplomat, aid worker, and journalist who has reported for the BBC from Afghanistan and Central Asia and worked for the UN in Geneva and Rwanda and elsewhere.
Chris served as a diplomat in London on human rights and was posted to Moscow and Iraqi Kurdistan heading the UK office in Erbil. He then moved into the corporate world.
Now in more reflective mode, Chris has re-trained as a psychotherapist and is writing plays around the dilemmas, crises and decisions he witnessed first-hand starting with Safe Haven on Iraqi Kurdistan and the UK response.
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Caitlin Abbott
Set & Costume Designer
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Beril Yavuz
Lighting & Video Designer
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Jules Wilkinson
Sound Designer
Jules Wilkinson
Sound Designer
Jules Wilkinson is a freelance radio producer and sound editor.
She has produced and edited numerous readings and documentaries for BBC Radio 4 and devised soundtracks and podcasts for museums, community theatre and the heritage sector. She’s also a published children’s author.
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Fehedê Herbo
Composer
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Harry Vella-Thompson
Production Manager
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Eleanor Boyle
Technical Stage Manager
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Elizabeth Gounari
Marketing
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