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13.11.2026

Cast & Creative Team Announced for Pericles, Prince of Lebanon

We’re excited to announce full cast and creative team for Pericles, Prince of Lebanon. A co-production with ETT, Bristol Old Vic and Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg in association with MMXX.

ETT Artistic Director Richard Twyman directs the world premiere of Pericles, Prince of Lebanon by Sami Ibrahim, inspired by Shakespeare’s tragicomedy. Set in modern day Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Greece and Libya, Ibrahim’s brand new version brings this ancient story of displacement into urgent contact with the present, where today’s defining crisis is found hiding inside Shakespeare’s most compassionate play. It opens at Bristol Old Vic (25 February – 20 March 2027) and continues to Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg (14 – 16 April 2027).

Featuring an international cast led by Amer Hlelel (The Voice of Hind Rajab, Taha) as Pericles, and Sayyid Aki (Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, Slow Horses) as Cleon, Laura Hanna (Twelfth Night, Or What You Will, Otherland) as Thaisa, Osloob, (founding member of the pioneering Palestinian hip-hop group Katibeh 5) as on-stage musician and vocalist, Raad Rawi (Kyoto, The Taxidermists Daughter) as Father and Lysimachus, Sarah Seggari (Anna Karenina, Casualty) as Dionyza, and Miltos Yerolemou (Game of Thrones, The Crown) as Antiochus, Simonides and Leonine.



The creative team brings together Writer Sami Ibrahim, Director Richard Twyman, Set and Costume Designer Ana Inés Jabares-Pita, Lighting Designer Simisola Majekodunmi, Sound Designer Donato Wharton, Composer Osloob, Movement Director Maher Abdul Moaty, Casting Director Jacob Sparrow and Associate Director Ashton Laffineur.

 

Sami Ibrahim, Writer, said, “I’m so excited to bring Pericles to the stage with ETT and particularly with Richard as director. We’ve been wrestling with the text for years and it’s been a thrilling challenge to mix the original Shakespeare with modern dialogue and a modern story, tracking the journeys of people fleeing across continents. It’s a play about migration and the way families are both torn apart and reunited over decades. I’m aware of how personal a piece it is for both me and Richard so to work on the play together is a privilege and I know it’s in very safe hands. Of course, Pericles also features colossal shipwrecks and wrong turns so it’s only fitting that the piece should travel across countries to be performed. I can’t wait to share it with audiences.”

Richard Twyman, Director, said: “Sami Ibrahim’s Pericles is essentially a new play, using the geography of Shakespeare’s original to tell a contemporary story of displacement, loss and reunion. It is a beautiful piece about one of the most important conversations of our day: migration, and people fleeing conflict. At its heart are family, fathers and daughters, and the journey to find a home in a hostile world. A work of deep humanity and compassion, it is a necessary tonic in the current debate, and one I hope will resonate with audiences. We’ve been joined by the most extraordinary team of international and UK-based actors and creatives, and I feel blessed to make this show with such an incredible group of artists.”

Nancy Medina, Bristol Old Vic Artistic Director said: “We’re proud to be part of Pericles, Prince of Lebanon because it explores migration not simply as a physical journey, but as a deeply emotional experience. Sami Ibrahim’s reimagining of Shakespeare’s epic play asks what it means to leave home and seek a place to belong. Bringing this story to our stage with an international cast and our co-producing partners is an exciting opportunity to explore those questions together.”