SARAI to Premiere at Arcola Theatre

Sarai has been promised that she and her husband Abram will become the founders of a new nation - whose sovereignty will be established upon an old land. This new historical narrative pays homage to the courage and wisdom of this most extraordinary woman as she contends with the formidable forces of famine, disease, persecution and civil war in order to realise her dream.

Sarai features the collaborative work of a team of award-winning artists to present a compelling psychological drama that will stimulate investigation, reflection and a new sense of purpose. The Company is calling this new theatrical style "Theatre of the Soul".

Karlina Grace-Paseda (Sarai), trained as a professional dancer at the Laban Dance Centre and London Studio Centre, and later as an actor at The Oxford School of Drama. She has worked across all genres of performance including theatre, radio, TV and short film. Karlina's theatre credits include lead understudy for both Death and the King's Horseman and Welcome to Thebes at The National Theatre; Titania in A Midsummer Night's Dream at Blenheim Palace; the title role in Queen Poku and Amado Ribeiro in The Asphalt Kiss, both at the New Diorama Theatre. Karlina has just finished a fringe production of Macbeth. At the pinnacle of Karlina's dance career she became known as the face of the 90's house band JX working on their three top 10 hits and with whom she toured extensively in both Britain and Europe.

Paul Anthony Morris Writer/Director

Paul is the Creative Director of Crying in the Wilderness Productions. He is also the inspiration behind the company's new theatrical style, 'Theatre of the Soul'. Paul is a recipient of the first Adopt A Playwright Award, Peggy Ramsay Award and an Edinburgh Fringe First. Previous productions include 35 Cents (Blue Elephant),

The Meeting (WarehouseTheatre), Click (Stratford Circus).

Byron Wallen Musical Director

Byron is a multiple award-winning musician and "one of the most innovative, exciting and original trumpet players alive" - JazzWise Magazine. He is widely recognised as a seminal figure in world jazz, and he is constantly travelling the world recording, teaching and performing. Byron will use his versatility as a multi-instrumentalist in our production to underscore the cultural imperatives related to patriarchy, chronology and privilege.

Shane Shambhu Choreographer

Shane is an award-winning choreographer initially trained in the Indian Performing

Art of bharatanatyam. His creative visioning draws upon his experiences from his extensive performance career working with high-profile companies as a creative

collaborator spanning dance, theatre, opera, music, mime, mask, circus, film, radio, literature, visual arts and poetry.

Victoria Johnstone Designer

Victoria has designed for Soho Theatre, Southwark Playhouse, Jermyn Street, Bethnal Green Working Men's Club and Brighton Dome and has worked with the National Theatre of Ghana, Opera North, Red Room, Firecracker, Border Crossings and Ardent Theatre. Previous work with Crying in the Wilderness includes The Meeting by Jeff Stetson.

Prema Mehta Lighting Design

Prema trained at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama and has designed the lighting for over 100 drama and dance productions and installations. Designs for the UK include lighting at the O2 Arena, Latitude Festival, Liverpool Everyman, Derby Theatre, Southbank Centre, Nottingham Playhouse, Westminster Hall and Madame Tussauds.

Jenny Adejayan Musician

Jenny is a London-born cellist of Nigerian/Grenadian descent. She has collaborated with Sir Tom Jones and Courtney Pine to Nitin Sawhney and Emeli Sande. Jenny regularly performs with the Antonio Forcione Quartet, Jerry Dammers' Spatial AKA Orchestra and Robyn Hitchcock among others. She has also twice performed with

her own quartet at the London African Music Festival at the Southbank Centre.

Louai Alhenawi Musician

Syrian musician Louai Alhenawi plays the ney, an ancient Middle Eastern end-blown flute. He was largely self-taught till the age of 18, when he decided to pursue a more formalised musical training at the newly established Conservatoire of Damascus, which offers Western-style academy training to Syrian musicians. Louai's presence at the Conservatoire led to its first established course in the instrument, and to its inclusion in performances by the Syrian Symphony Orchestra. His conservatoire training contributed to Louai's confidence and development as an artist and composer in his homeland. In his short time in London Louai has already been involved in significant collaborations and extensive touring in Europe and the Middle East.

Nao Masuda Musican

Nao is a multi-instrumentalist and specialises in Japanese Taiko drumming. For our production of Sarai, Nao merges the subtleties of South Indian percussion with classic Taiko drumming to enhance the epic nuances of the narrative.

Crying in the Wilderness Productions

Since the company's inception in 2006 Crying in the Wilderness Productions have produced six full-scale productions and developed numerous initiatives in

partnership and in association with West Yorkshire Playhouse, Oval House, Tristan Bates Theatre, Wilton's Music Hall, Blue Elephant Theatre, CIA Theatre Company, Croydon Warehouse, Half Moon Theatre, Creative Elements, Talawa Theatre,

Stratford Circus, Theatre Royal Haymarket, Bush Theatre, Nomad Creative

Consultancy and Arcola Theatre. Our artistic achievements to date have been

highlighted in the press and documented in five short films with critical contributions from journalists, directors, producers, artists, theologians, MP's and members of the public endorsing the artistic quality of our initiatives.