Will time away from the family for Ahmad and Nour solve all their problems? Can newly weds Youssef and Sana'a survive a forced separation? Are Nadia and Reem able to reconcile their differences over the sale of their family home? Is Gasir really Hadia's knight in shining armour? And do the buses that pass outside a cramped cell represent hope or despair for four Palestinian prisoners? Supported by the British Council and developed with Elyse Dodgson, Associate Director of the Royal Court Theatre and with playwrights April De Angelis and David Greig these plays from Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, Morocco and Egypt resonate with truth. In their portrayal of hopes and dreams, fears and failures they represent the very best new writing from the Arab world, capturing as they do the shared experience of all people, however different our language and culture. All five received rehearsed readings at London's Royal Court Theatre.