What it means to try and create a nation – and why a country’s treasures matter when people are dying.
A story of treasured history, desperate choices and the remarkable Gertrude Bell
In 1926, the nation of Iraq is in its infancy, and British archaeologist Gertrude Bell is founding a museum in Baghdad. In 2006, Ghalia Hussein is attempting to reopen the museum after looting during the war.
Decades apart, these two women share the same goals: to create a fresh sense of unity and nationhood, to make the world anew through the museum and its treasures. But in such unstable times, questions remain. Who is the museum for? Whose culture are we preserving? And why does it matter when people are dying?
A Museum in Baghdad played in the Swan Theatre in 2019. It was due to transfer to the Kiln Theatre, Kilburn in 2020, but was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Cast
David Birrell - Professor Leonard Woolley
Houda Echouafni - Layla Hassan
Emma Fielding - Gertrude Bell
Ali Gadema - Kidnapper/Prime Minister
Rendah Heywood - Ghalia Hussein
Zed Josef - Salim
Nadi Kemp-Sayfi - Nasiya
Debbie Korley - Sam York
Riad Richie - Mohammed Abdullah
Rasoul Saghir - Abu Zaman
