Premiering at the Tricycle Theatre in London in 2009, it had another 6-week run there before a tour of the US. The cast included Michael Cochrane and Jemma Redgrave and the directors were Nicolas Kent and Indhu Rubasingham. It was noted for the significant interest shown in the production by the Pentagon, as an educational tool for US soldiers and officials involved in the war in Afghanistan.[1]
Campaign by Amit Gupta – A British civil servant in the new UK coalition government tries to draw on the history of Mahmud Tarzi to produce a British withdrawal strategy in 2010.
Black Tulips by David Edgar – Groups of Russian conscripts from 1987 back to 1981 are briefed for their role in the Soviet–Afghan War
Wood for the Fire by Lee Blessing – Two CIA operatives deal differently with the growing power of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence to supply the Mujahideen for their war on the Soviets. (The original play in this slot in 2009 was JT Rogers' Blood and Gifts on a similar topic,[2] but this was left out of the 2010 run, since it had been expanded into a full-length play in the meantime to be produced at the Royal National Theatre in October 2010.[3])
Miniskirts of Kabul by David Greig – A Western journalist imagines a meeting with president Mohammad Najibullah as the Taliban closes in on his refuge in the UN compound in Kabul in 1996.[4]
The Lion of Kabul by Colin Teevan – Two men have killed UN aid workers and the Taliban throw them to Marjan, the one-eyed lion in Kabul Zoo, with the UN's unwilling collusion.
Honey by Ben Ockrent – A CIA man tries and fails to persuade Ahmad Shah Massoud to help resume American intervention in Afghanistan, just before Massoud's assassination in 2001.
On the Side of the Angels by Richard Bean – An aid worker gets involved in Afghan women's rights against her will, when two young girls are betrothed to older men to resolve a land rights dispute.[6]
Canopy of Stars by Simon Stephens – Two British soldiers guarding the Kajaki Dam discuss military life and the justification for intervention.[citation needed]
Production history
Tricycle Theatre, London – 17 April to 14 June 2009 [7]
Tricycle Theatre, London – 23 July to 30 August 2010
Two-hour radio adaptation of four plays (Bugles at the Gates of Jalalabad, Miniskirts of Kabul, Honey and Canopy of Stars), with original cast and introduction by Robin Lustig, in the Drama on 3 strand, BBC Radio 3, 8pm, 10 October 2010[9]
