The Arrival

Recommended by

19 November 2019 · Follow on Stagedoor

“This is the debut play by Bijan Sheibani, the brilliant director behind The Barbershop Chronicles (NT & World Tour), Dance Nation (Almeida) and The Brothers Size (Young Vic). This one is a family drama about two brothers who grew up apart and are amazed at the similarities between them when they meet later in life – but their relationship is dogged by the trappings of the past.”

Lyn Gardner

14 November 2019 · Follow on Stagedoor

“The first two shows in Lynette Linton’s first season as artistic director were both hits in my book, so can she make it a hat trick? The omens are good for this debut play from Olivier Award-winning director Bijan Sheibani. He was behind the magnificent Dance Nation and the glorious The Barbershop Chronicles. Now he is turning his hand to writing with this family drama about two young men, Tom and Samad, who meet and get closer. But then their past threatens to bring their whole lives come crashing down. Sheibani also directs.”

Overview

When Tom meets Samad it’s like he’s coming face to face with himself. They have the same gestures, the same instincts…even the same handwriting. It’s as if a lifetime of questions can now be answered, as if all that that was missing is now found.

But as they get closer, and their lives become more entangled, the insurmountable truth of their past threatens to bring everything crashing to the ground.

The Arrival is a taut family drama about missed connections and those ties that bind too tightly. About the pain of finding – and losing – something you never had. A debut play by Olivier Award-winning theatre director Bijan Sheibani (The Brothers Size, Barber Shop Chronicles, Dance Nation).