Created under commission from the London Palestine Film Festival, Elias Matar's haunting yet hopeful A Grain Of Sand runs at the Arcola Theatre in January, an homage to the innocent children persevering through the face of unimaginable hardship in Gaza, never losing sight of the light at the end of the tunnel. An adaptation of the real stories from Leila Boukarim and Asaf Luzon's compilation A Million Kites: Testimonies and Poems from the Children of Gaza, the production stars Sarah Agha bringing the character of Renad to life in this moving one-woman show.

Inspired by the historic struggle of the Kurdish people and his time in Iraqi Kurdistan, ex-British diplomat Chris Bowers brings his play Safe Haven to the Arcola Theatre, directed by Mark Gieser. Having served as HMG Consul General in Kurdistan, Bowers' first hand experience of the hardships faced by the Kurds has led him to bring this story to the stage, recounting a humanitarian mission in 1991 to prevent mass bloodshed of the fleeing Kurds.