Truth and Treason

Drama. Middle Eastern Studies. Shortlisted for the 2018 QWF Prize for Playwriting. It is 2007, and Iraq is roiling under the American occupation. Fractured by warring political factions, threatened by Islamic fundamentalism, preyed on by American industrialists, it is a place where the cry of a dying child often goes unheard. Against this backdrop, the Americans prepare to host the Conference for Democracy and the Salvation of Iraq, a glittering assembly of powerful Iraqis and Americans. One day, at the checkpoint in front of the conference, a little girl called Ghazal Ahad in search of her father is shot by an unidentified American soldier. As the conference unfolds, American commanders struggle to contain fallout from the incident. Nonetheless, a Sheikh declares a fatwa, the Iraqi prime minister finds his government threatened, and the commander in charge, Hektor, who harbors a secret past, is forced to protect both the army and himself.