Cast announced for Fireworks at the Royal Court

Full casting has been announced for Fireworks ( ألعاب نارية), a new play by Palestinian playwright and poet Dalia Tala which runs at the Royal Court Theatre in west London from 12 February to 14 March 2015, with an official opening on 19 February 2015.

The cast includes Saleh Bakri, Nabil Elouahabi, Sirine Saba, and Shereen Martin. They will be joined by four young actors George Karageorgis, Yusuf Hofri, Shakira Riddell-Morales and Eden Nathenson who will perform in pairs on alternate evenings.

"In a Palestinian town eleven year-old Lubna and twelve year-old Khalil are playing on the empty stairwell in their apartment block. As the siege intensifies outside, fear for their safety becomes as crippling as the conflict itself."

Fireworks was developed as part of The Royal Court's international residency and is part of International Playwrights: A Genesis Foundation Project. The theatre has worked in Palestine since 1998, both running playwriting programmes and workshops throughout the country, as well as bringing artists to London.

The production will be directed by Richard Twyman with designs by Lizzie Clachan, lighting by Natasha Chivers, music by Benedict Taylor and sound design by George Dennis.

Saleh Bakri is known for his roles in Palestinian films such as 'When I Saw You', 'Salt of this Sea' and 'The Time That Remains'. His theatre credits include roles in 'A Day of Our Time' by Saadallah Wannous, 'The Screens' by Jean Genet and 'Forget Herostratus' by Grigori Gorin.

Nabil Elouahabi most recently appeared on stage in 'The Nightmares of Carlos Fuentes' at the Arcola Theatre. His other theatre credits include 'Love Your Soldiers' at the Sheffield Crucible, 'The Great Game', 'The Lion of Kabul' and 'Crossing Jerusalem' all at the Tricycle Theatre. Nabil is known for playing regular character Tariq in 'EastEnders'.

Sirine Saba's theatre credits include 'Next Fall' at the Southwark Playhouse, 'Holy Warriors', 'Anthony & Cleopatra', 'Osmund the Great Turk' all at Shakespeare's Globe, and 'The Winter's Tale', 'HMS Pinafore', and 'Twelfth Night' all at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre.

Shereen Martin recently appeared in 'The Only True History of Lizzie Finn' at the Southwark Playhouse. Her other theatre credits include 'Tonight at 8:30' (UK Tour), 'Ciphers' (Out of Joint), 'Measure for Measure' and 'Titus Andronicus' (RSC).