Safe Haven at Safe Haven

Spring, 1991.

In the wake of the First Gulf War, Saddam Hussein’s forces in Iraq crush the Kurdish uprising and two million civilians flee into the freezing mountains. As the crisis unfolds unprecedentedly on television screens around the world, a small group inside Whitehall tries to shift policy before the window closes.

Set between the Kurdish mountains and the Whitehall offices, Safe Haven follows two diplomats and a Kurdish refugee, pushing the British government to act and prevent another genocide.

Written by Chris Bowers, former British diplomat in Iraqi-Kurdistan, Safe Haven is based on real events and explores how moral conviction and diplomatic pressure contributed to Operation Safe Haven, asking what responsibility governments bear when catastrophe is unfolding in plain sight.

Safe Haven is presented here in a new production, directed by Yad Deen.

Post-show events

25 June: Special Guest Kae Kurd

Join us after the show for a conversation with Kae Kurd, a comedian and podcaster whose own family fled Kurdistan, and Chris Bowers, writer of Safe Haven.

26 June: Panel Discussion in association with the Kurdistan Society

Join us after the show for a panel discussion featuring Sir John Jenkins, former UK Ambassador to Baghdad, Tripoli and Riyadh; Karwan Jamal, the KRG High Representative; Triska Hamid, survivor of the mountains; and Catherine Roe, a key player in Operation Safe Haven.

27 June, 7.30pm show: Musical Performance from Suna Alan

Join us after the show for post-show cultural discussion followed by a musical performance in the bar with Kurdish singer Suna Alan.