Angel press release

Written by Henry Naylor, directed by Peter Doran, designed by Sean Crowley, and featuring Yasemin Özdemir – Angel is the remarkable true story of one woman’s brave fight against the biggest threat to her town and its people.

Angel takes to Theatr Brycheiniog’s stage on 20^th October at 7:30pm. For further information, and to book tickets, please contact Box Office on 01874 611 622 where a member of our Visitor Experience Team will be more than happy to help. You can also book tickets online, see our full list of prices and concessions, and view all our upcoming performances at www.brycheiniog.co.uk

Angel is the legendary story of Rehana. In 2014 Kurdish families were fleeing Kobane to avoid the inevitable ISIS onslaught; Rehana stayed to fight and defend her town; as a sniper she allegedly killed more than 100 ISIS fighters. When her story came out, she became an internet sensation and a symbol of resistance against Islamic State and dubbed the ‘Angel of Kobane’. Now, this extraordinary story comes to the stage in Henry Naylor’s award-winning play. 

Angel, a one-woman show, is the third story in Henry Naylor’s Arabian Nightmares trilogy and was first staged to great acclaim at Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2016. Since then, it has been seen around the world to great critical acclaim, winning awards at many international festivals. The Torch Theatre brings you their own production, directed by Peter Doran, designed by Sean Crowley, and featuring Yasemin Özdemir as the eponymous Angel. 

The original production of Angel premiered at the Gilded Balloon in 2016, and starred Filipa Bragança. There have been over 500 public performances of Angel; the play has been performed in 5 continents and it has been translated into French, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, Swedish, Greek, Turkish and Norwegian. 

It played for three months at the prestigious Théâtre Tristan-Bernard in Paris and starred French movie-star Lina El Arabi. Lina won best actress for her efforts, and the play itself was also nominated, at the Globes de Cristal (France’s equivalent of the Golden Globes). A Norwegian production of the show was similarly nominated for the Heddaprisen.

This play is a hard-hitting exploration of Angel’s story, during a time when the themes are very much still relevant and present in modern society. Director Peter Doran states that “Angel is undoubtedly one of the most powerful plays I’ve ever seen or worked on. There’s no doubt in my mind that the war in Ukraine has brought the impact of war closer to home giving it a more powerful resonance for audiences throughout the UK. Yasemin and I are enjoying working together once again and are thrilled to be bringing this powerful piece of theatre to a whole new audience”. 

In all, it has won or been nominated for 15 major national and international theatre awards. It is currently being developed as a movie by Volatile Media. 

Angel is suitable for those aged 14+, as the play contains strong language and distressing scenes that some audience may find uncomfortable. 

About Yasemin Özdemir

Yasemin Özdemir is a remarkable actress, her theatre credits include Living Newspaper for The Royal Court, We Need to Talk About Grief for the Domnar Warehouse directed by Sean Linnen, Romeo & Juliet for the Frantic Assembly / National Youth Theatre Wales production, directed by Bruce Guthrie and the site-specific production of Pride and Prejudice. Whilst training her credits included: Hannah Jarvis in Arcadia, Girl with no shoes in Rage (UK Premiere) by Simon Stephens and Barbara in Wonder of the World. On screen credits include Lilith in the BFI short film Yummy Mummy by DreamMore Films Ltd and Amina in the short film Patrick for Auntie Margaret Productions. 

Yasemin is also a highly skilled physical actress with a strong passion for stage combat. She was involved in the fighting cohort for the epic action film, Lady of Heaven. 

About Henry Naylor

Henry Naylor is a multi-award-winning UK playwright who has been described by British Critics as ‘one of our best new playwrights’ (Ann Treneman, The Times), ‘the Fringe’s unofficial star writer-in-residence’ (Mark Lawson, New Statesman), and ‘one of the most thought-provoking playwrights of our times’ (Ayesha Hazarika, The Spectator). Overseas, critics have compared his work favourably with Hemmingway, Dickens, and Athol Fugard. 

In the past five years his plays have won or been nominated for 39 international awards, including one of France’s most prestigious awards for the arts, the Globes De Cristal and Norway’s ‘Olivier’s’, the Heddaprisen. In. 2016, he joined J.K. Rowling in having written one of the 10 Best Plays of the Year by The Times. He is one of only a handful of writers to have one the Fringe First three times and has won four of the top five Fringe awards at the Edinburgh Fringe, including the Carol Tambor Best of Edinburgh Award. The one he hasn’t won – the Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award – he’s been nominated for three times. 

Three of his plays have had a month long runs off-Broadway, and in 2017 alone there were over 300 public performances of his work, over five continents. His work has been translated into ten languages, and four of his plays have been published by Nick Hern Books. At the time of writing, there are productions of his work playing in Belgium, USA, Greece, and the UK. 

Before becoming a playwright, Naylor had an extensive career as both a performer and writer for both radio and TV. He wrote for top British comedy shows Smith & Jones, Lenny Henry, Alistair MacGowan, Headcases and Dead Ringers – and was even a lead writer for legendary satirical puppet show Spitting Image. As a performer, he shared a successful double act with Andy Parsons; together the duo hosted nine series of their own show Parsons & Naylor’s Pull-Out Sections on Europe’s largest radio station, BBC Radio 2, garnering some of the highest ratings for a radio comedy in the Noughties. 

Praise for Angel

“This production deserves every one of them (5 stars). It’s outstanding theatre” – ★★★★★ SCOTTISH FIELD 

“Yasemin Özdemir is powerful and dynamic, giving a wonderfully memorable performance” - ★★★★★Everything Theatre

“Allow this heart pulling piece to remind you that the natural disposition of the world is infinity and absolutely unravel you” - ★★★★★ Binge Fringe 

“A moving piece and a brilliant performance” - ★★★★★ British Theatre Guide

“Another fine solo performance in Henry Naylor’s Angel… the piece resounds with an unmistakable truth” – Sunday National

“Henry Naylor is emerging as one of our best playwrights” - ★★★★★ The Times, Ann Treneman (UK)

“Naylor is emerging as one of the great playwrights of our times, not only handling very difficult political and gender issues but doing so with a very lyrical and potent pen” - ★★★★★ The Barefoot Review, Samela Harris (Australia) 

“[Angel is] one of the most powerful pieces of theatre I’ve seen in a long time’ – BBC Radio 4 Front Row, Kirsty Lang (UK)

“Powerful, electric and completely overwhelming” - ★★★★★ Time Out, (Paris, France)

★★★★★ Le Parisian (Paris, France) 

“A moving and exciting piece of theatre and brilliant performance” - ★★★★★ British Theatre Guide 

“It is an extraordinary achievement of Yasemin Özdemir to portray the character of Rehana so powerfully, and those of the individuals along her path. Her passion and brilliance shine” – Tenby Observer

“Come with an open heart, come with an open mind. Prepare to be inspired by this individual who fights, against all the odds to become incredible” – Life Seeker Pembrokeshire

“A play and a performance to make you realise just how much you missed going to the theatre over the last 18 months. Yasemin Özdemir is staggering” – Owen Thomas, Playwright