Theatr Clwyd's SCATTERED to Launch Limited Tour

Artistic Director of Theatr Clwyd Tamara Harvey today announces the return of Tim Baker's Scattered - the story of two boys from very different backgrounds whose lives collide during an unexpected meeting, forming a bond across boundaries and cultures. Directed by former resident director John Young, the production has been created with the advice of Manchester-based Rethink Rebuild, a Syrian refugee community group. The production plays at Theatr Clwyd and Chapter Cardiff and tours to local secondary schools before final performances at the Good Chance Theatre in Calais - the first play to be invited to perform at the venue.

Different pasts, shared future: An important and original play confronting stereotypes surrounding asylum seekers and refugees.

Set in an abandoned allotment against the backdrop of today, this is the story of when two worlds meet as two teenage boys, Owen from Wales and Yasser from Syria, have a chance encounter. Through a series of intense and powerful exchanges an extraordinary friendship emerges. As the two boys "unearth" each other's stories this captivating new play explores the challenging topics we ourselves struggle with: identity, belonging, boundaries.

Director John Young said today, "I am delighted that we have been given the opportunity to revisit Scattered after a successful first outing in 2014. Scattered was originally created with Ceri Roberts and written by Tim Baker during our residency with the theatre just over a year ago. It's a play about two boys from very different worlds who share their stories during a special few weeks over the course of a summer. Despite the immediate topicality of the piece, the themes and ideas within it are universal and I believe apply to us all as human beings. As a director it's been an absolute joy to be able to strip everything back and work simply with voices and text within a shared space. We're honoured and excited to be taking our production to Good Chance Theatre in "The Jungle" refugee camp, Calais, who are doing wonderful and inspiring work within very tough conditions."

James El-Sharawy plays Yasser. His theatre credits include The Fifth Column, The Cutting of the Cloth (Southwark Playhouse), Walaa (New Diorama/St Martin in the Fields), A Hard Rain (Above the Stag), Psychopomp and Circumstance (Hen & Chickens), Tunnel (Nightingale Theatre), Portrait of a Man (Victoria and Albert Museum), Qudz (The Yard Theatre), Masked (George Bernard Shaw Theatre, RADA), Days of Significance (Unicorn Theatre), Death of a Salesman (Rose Theatre), Amir: The Lost Prince of Persia (Theatre 503). His film credits include False Assurance and Evidence of Existence.

Daniel Graham plays Owen. His theatre credits include Mametz (National Theatre Wales), Sweeney Todd (Chichester Festival Theatre and West End), A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog (Theatr Clwyd), Sky Hawk (Theatr Clwyd, Lyric Theatre Belfast and Regional Tour), Peter Pan (Sherman Cymru). His work for television includes Stella; and for film The Cursed Mirror.

Tim Baker has written over thirty plays and adapted works for the stage by Dickens, Steinbeck, Eliot and Dylan Thomas. Other works include Mimosa. Baker is also an award-winning director and has worked internationally. He has been Theatr Clwyd's Associate Director and the Artistic Director of Theatr Clwyd Theatre for Young People (CTCTYP) since 1997. In 2008 he won a major Arts Council of Wales Creative Wales Award, which enabled him to undertake a project involving theatre in small nations across the world. He was also Artistic Director of the National Youth Theatre of Wales from 2008 to 2012.

John Young directs. Young is a former Resident Assistant Director at the Finborough Theatre and Emerging Trainee Director with CTCTYP. His directing credits include A Place in the Woods (Tristan Bates Theatre), The Watchers (Southwark Playhouse), We Know Where You Live (Finborough Theatre), What the Walls Saw (Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre), Soft Beats the Heart (Theatre503) and Scattered (CTCTYP). His assisting credits include Skyhawk (CTCTYP/Tour), Chicken Dust and Our American Cousin (Finborough Theatre).