ruins أطلال

 TOUR DATES

SEYMOUR SEASON 2025 25 SEPTEMBER - 18 OCTOBER

WOLLONDILLY PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE OCTOBER 24-25

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”It’s quite rare that I watch a piece of independent theatre and leave pondering its beauty, but Ruins is exactly that. Beautiful.”

- CULTURAL BINGE

“it’s a stunningly beautiful work of visual metaphor.”

- THEATRE RED

“A riveting piece of physical, emotional theatre … is rich in theatrical treasures that unearth emotions and warmth buried recently

or long ago… ensure we are touched by this small work’s huge humanity.”

- SYDNEY ARTS GUIDE

“You get to see the actors in the heat of battle, the sweat beading on their foreheads, you see the

endless hours of blocking manifest themselves in beautifully crisp staging.”

- THEATRE THOUGHTS

What is our heart’s journey when our world is split in two?

Grief-stricken by her late father’s sudden death, Amelia Alyssa embarks on a journey to her ancestral homeland, Lebanon. She bears witness to the ancient Baalbek ruins of the Bekaa Valley while lodging nearby at the Hotel Palmyra, a time capsule of a flourishing yesteryear. 

 An enduring myth of migration and sacrifice brings Amelia face to face with the question “where is home”? Past and present collide as Amelia enters the land of the dead where a chorus of shapeshifting wanderers evoke a descent into an archaeological underworld with mythic overtones.

Produced in association with Seymour Centre

Co-devised Emily Ayoub and Madeline Baghurst
Director Emily Ayoub 
Lighting Designer Frankie Clarke
Composer Johnny Yang
Video Designer Laura Turner
Stage Manager Dylan Ford
Dramaturg Mine Cerci
Script Consultant Michael Mohammad Ahmed
Cast Adam Alkuheli, Madeline Baghurst, Tony Poli, Piumi Wijesundara
Musicians Gianna Cheung, Jessica Scott

Image credit Geoff Magee

With special thanks to Mine Cerci (Dramaturgical support), Michael Mohammad Ahmed (Script consultancy support), Michael Pigott, Critical Path, Dom Mercer and the staff of Belvoir. Our heartfelt thanks to Rima Husseini, owner of the Hotel Palmyra for her knowledge, wisdom and kindness. The development of this project is supported by the Ethics Centre Residency program and Shopfront Arts.

Clockfire Theatre Company thanks participants of their May 2023 Chorus Intensive Lab, whose research into chorus contributed to the making of this work.