Emine is more interested in a dead cat than her kids…Al is lost in Grindr, whilst Ayşe – a fierce and intelligent young woman – is drowning in the mire of social media. They are thrown into turmoil when Ayşe commits a horrific assault.
Screens tells the story of a modern British Turkish Cypriot family who are barely treading water. Set against a hyper-modern online framework based on fleeting moments of connection, it captures the zeitgeist of split personality as we constantly alter our identities – inherited, online and for real – to suit the people around us.
This urgent, witty and dramatic play explores whether second generation immigrants can ever really be whole if they’ve been torn apart by the partitioning of homelands. Are they lost or do they offer new hope?
It’s written by emerging talent, Stephen Laughton (Run, Vault Festival; Nine, Arcola Theatre), himself of Jewish Cypriot origin. He said, “Screens is me exploring issues surrounding my own identity: boy, man, gay, Londoner, Midlander, Cypriot, Jewish. It’s a really important play for me, and it’s been a long time coming. When you’re neither one thing nor the other, you end up constantly questioning what you are.”
Stephen uses the Cyprus conflict as a backdrop to tackle a host of other stigma-infused topics: homophobia, discrimination, violence and loss of self. It’s an issue that not only affects Cypriots, but a host of other refugee communities in Britain – Jewish and Palestinian, Indian and Pakistani, Catholic and Protestant, Sunni and Shia – whose homelands have been partitioned.
Featuring Turkish Cypriot actress Fisun Burgess (Dirty Pretty Things, Driv3r and Chasmogamy) as Emine, and directed by Cressida Brown (RE:Home; Caught, Arcola Theatre, Walking the Tightrope, Underbelly, Edinburgh), Screens is on at Theatre503 in Battersea until 3rd September.
Event details
Play: Screens by Stephen Laughton
Venue address: Theatre503, The Latchmere, 503 Battersea Park Road, London SW11 3BW
Dates: Tuesday-Saturday, until Saturday 3rd September 2016
Starts: Tues-Saturday 7.45pm, matinees Saturday 3pm and Sunday 5pm
Entry: Adults 16+ only. £15/£12 + pay what you can Sundays.
Tickets and more info: theatre503.com
