Brighton Year-Round 2026
The Beekeeper of Aleppo
Martin Dodd for UK Productions, Nottingham Playhouse
Genre: Adaptation, Contemporary, Drama, Historical, Mainstream Theatre, Political, Theatre
Venue: Theatre Royal, Brighton
Festival: Brighton Year-Round
Low Down
Christy Lefteri’s 2019 novel The Beekeeper of Aleppo about one family’s journey from Syria, is dramatised by Nesrin Alrefaai – and Matthew Spangler of The Kite Runner fame. The Beekeeper’s first run in 2023, directed by Miranda Cromwell, missed Brighton. Revived for a second tour, now directed by Anthony Almeida, it finally reaches the Theatre Royal Brighton where it plays till June 13. Being the final leg of the tour, it’s also the last chance to see it.
It’s important to see it now. It’s none the less real for being fiction.
Review
Here’s a familiar nudge. Christy Lefteri’s 2019 novel The Beekeeper of Aleppo about one family’s journey from Syria, is dramatised by Nesrin Alrefaai – and Matthew Spangler of The Kite Runner fame. It’s also from Nottingham Playhouse which saw the 2013 UK premiere of Kite Runner. The Beekeeper’s first run in 2023, directed by Miranda Cromwell, missed Brighton. Revived for a second tour, now directed by Anthony Almeida, it finally reaches the Theatre Royal Brighton where it plays till June 13. Being the final leg of the tour, it’s also the last chance to see it.
Syria, 2010. Mustafa (Joseph Long) shows younger cousin Nuri (Adam Sina) how to tend and even conjure bees. Nuri’s wife Afra (Farah Saffari) and their son Sami (a winning Dona Atallah, later the evanescent, scampering Mohammed) play in an idyllic world.
Inevitably there’s comparisons. The Kite Runner enjoys a clear narrative, and Beekeeper is more psychological, more ambitious internally but less spectacular. There’s no heroic redemption, and it would be wrong to expect the stand-offs and epic scale of that classic. This is more Odyssey where the Cyclops lurks within, and other monsters go unpunished.
The narrative continually flickers back and forward through 2015 in England (so no surprises in that sense), then briefly 2011 to the war in Syria when it touches Aleppo. Then horrors slowly push the couple to a 2015 flight, now alone. Crossing to Turkey, finally Athens, they encounter all kinds of people in a hard-working eight-strong cast.
Sina makes a convincingly anguished Nuri, where his PTSD involves unexpected consequences and narrative twists. Saffari’s Afra, now blind, circles by touch as her own traumas affect her more physically. But is she more psychologically adjusted? Saffari’s appeal lies in how she sees inwardly what’s happening to them both. Each thinks the other’s disappearing.
The authoritative, engaging, above all clear-voiced Long is a winning Mustafa: who lost his son delaying a little too long in joining family members in Yorkshire. He continually emails with updates. Elsewhere Long enjoys the wittily comedic assimilation the Moroccan Man adopts in England, with his “geezer” and Union Jack reveal.
Aram Mardourian – the one returnee from the 2023 cast – relishes playing various dodgy roles as former musician and Afghan broker Nadim, Greek people smuggler Fotakis and other darkly energetic facilitators in Ali, as well as a vicious Syrian soldier.
There’s fine support with Alia Lahlou, who contrasts the not entirely hostile UK Immigration Officer from quite early on, with far more sympathetic NHS doctor Faruk.
Princess Khumalo like Atallah is a refreshingly lively contrast to the dour, often painful narrative. Taking Angeliki the cheery Greek refugee liaison who treats events like a kind of holiday resort booking; and more importantly Lucy Fisher her slightly more sussed UK counterpart. Fisher’s the welcoming face of a UK system that allows few advocates, and those constrained by hostile environment rules.
Khumalo’s most powerful, anguished role though is Dahab, whose daughter was stolen in Athens. Some of the most striking scenes involve her befriending Saffari’s Afra, and her reluctance to flee further, stuck where her daughter vanished. Named roles are joined by ensemble members Mohsen Ghaffari and Helena Massoud.
Ruby Pugh’s thin, busy set resembles one of those plastic terrain squares designed for toy soldiers; and is static, perhaps by now rather tired. Though in its overall Aleppo house feel, there’s a few ingenious devices; and a stripped-back reveal towards the end. Ben Ormerod’s lighting almost erects a world, with an occasionally sulphurous edge. Particularly with Zsolt Balogh’s video projections. These play in a broken, sometimes entrancing way on the undulating surface. Sometimes they wink out as hieroglyphs, sometimes more solid, though lack clear intent. Again this might match internalised narratives but though colourful and certainly evocative don’t communicate ideally. A pity as the artwork’s genuinely impressive. Tinying Dong’s sound threads through Elaha Sordor’s music, though in Bella Kear’s sound design for the revival, voices are sometimes indistinct and jumbled.
This is a necessary play. Cast are clearly inside the roles, and play with heart, occasionally ferocity and humour. Though a fictive journey, it highlights the sheer difference, in some ways uniqueness of each refugee’s journey. Though some details, the crossings themselves, are universal and relatable.
We remember Kurdish Syrian baby Alan Kurdi, washed up dead in Kos in September 2015. Of the family, only the father survived. Briefly the world took refugees to heart; but we now live in a time of so many displaced by war and persecution, that despite resources, hostility has returned. And the greatest resource and skills unused, are those of refugees themselves.
It climaxed dramatically last year. Jermyn Street premiered Timberlake Wertenbaker’s Little Brother, from the real account of Ibrahima Balde whom Spanish writer Amets Arzallus Antia championed and writes of. Despite his new Spanish citizenship the Home Office tried blocking Balde from attending the premiere of his own story, arguing he’d try to stay here. Though small-scale, its pristine clarity offsets some fuzziness (as it were) in Beekeeper.
Beekeeper is still though an important play, communicated here with heart and soul over its two hours fifteen with interval; and a brief announcement at the end. Its ambition lies in devastating reveals and psychological torment. In that way it’s unique, and hopefully will benefit from a rethink of set, video-lighting relations and dramaturgy, as well as sound projection on its return. That will take a while, so it’s important to see it now. It’s none the less real for being fiction.
Movement Director Kane Husbands, Dialect Coaches Nadia Gattan & Louise Jones, Voice Coach Mariannw Samuels, Artistic Wellbeing Practitioner Nikki Disney, Props Supervisor Hannah Zemlak,
Casting Director Lucy Jenkins & Sooki McShane CDG, Cultural Consultant Nesrin Alrefaai, Fight Consultant Kiel O’Shea, Revival Sound Designer Bella Kear, Assistant Director Massi Safa, Associate Designer Ruth Hall, Images & Drone Footage Aleppo Media Centre.
Production Managers Andy Batty & Andrew Quick, Costume Supervisor Emilie Carter, Wardrobe Head Charlotte Pickard, Assistant Wardrobe Emily Applegate.
Video Engineer & Programmer Gillian Tan, Production Electrician Alex Rolfe, Touring LX Allie Yu Hu, Video Engineer Dan Crews, Touring Sound/AV Engineer Chiara Bertrand.
Musical Arrangement Giulano Modarelli, Lyrics Mohammad Sharif Saiidi, Vocal Elaha Sordor, Kamanche Nilofar Shiri, Guitar Kaveh Bahrami, Percussion Joost Hendrixx.
Scenery, Scenic Art, Costumes and Props made by Nottingham Playhouse Workshops, Supported by a team of freelancers.
Company Stage Managers Grace Duckerin, Deputy Stage Manager Charlotte Jones, Assistant Stage Manager Crystal Gale.
Lighting Hires encore, Video and Sound Hires Stage Sound Services, Trucking Steve Pugh Logistics
Artistic Producer & General manager Duncan Sandys, Producer Martin Dodd.
Photo Credit: Manuel Harlan.
