THEN (1926)

Gertrude Bell: A real-life figure from history. Gertrude was originally from  North-East England and is 57 years old at the time the play is set, an archaeologist in the process of trying to create a National Museum of Iraq by drawing all its historical artefacts together in one place. She was instrumental in shaping the creation of modern Iraq and drew up many of its laws, including the Laws of Antiquities. She was also a mountaineer, explorer, and brilliant linguist; a woman who felt stifled by the constraints of the male-dominated  British society of her time. 

‘The only way to change things, my dear Salim, is to hide in plain sight. Fit into the structures that exist’ 

 

Salim: A 20-year-old Iraqi man, Gertrude’s assistant in her task of opening a  museum ‘for the people of Iraq’. His main tasks are preparing, safeguarding and classifying the ancient objects ahead of their display. He is extremely knowledgeable about cultural history and has lived through years of conflict and uprisings. Now he is determined that these objects are displayed as an act  of belief in the power of art and shared history to foster shared understanding  and personal enrichment  

‘I am a human. And now an Iraqi. In a country of religion. Many.’ 

 

Professor Leonard Woolley: a real-life historical figure, a British archaeologist who is 46 years old at the time the play is set. He does not have great hopes for the future of Iraq; his primary interest is in the objects that he is trying to find there. He is currently leading an excavation dig in the city of Ur, where he discovers an ancient burial site, that he hopes to bring back to The British Museum, to whom he is strongly tied. 

‘I predict it’ll all be back to the BM in time for tea when civil war erupts again  and they go back to their tribes’ 

 

 

NOW (2006)

Ghalia Hussein: a 55-year-old Iraqi archaeologist who is the director of the museum ahead of its opening. She is tasked with the challenge of keeping the artefacts, her employees and museum visitors safe at a time when civil unrest and bombings are ongoing and tanks are parked in front of the museum. Her  family are back in England, where she has lived and worked for many years  until now, and she has to assert her identity as an Iraqi to her colleagues who have always lived in Iraq. 

‘When I opened it – it gave me a surge of hope…despite all the destructive  things can get back to where they belong’ 

 

Mohammed Abdullah: a 25-year-old Iraqi curator at the museum, whose future will be hugely bound up by the decision to open the museum or not. He is from a well-connected family and firmly believes that the objects should be displayed for the people of his city, not safely stashed away in basements or foreign collections. He becomes increasingly close to Layla as the play develops. 

‘Give them a taste that this museum is going to be great again, able to rival  anything in the West’. 

 

Layla Hassan: a 31-year-old Iraqi archaeologist, who is described as a ‘purist’ by  Ghalia. Layla is a field archaeologist, who believes that objects should be displayed in the context they are found, in community museums, rather than encased and classified in big buildings in capital cities. She has lived through  the war and Saddam’s era and is hostile to the American presence yet  remains dedicated to her work, capable of being moved by the beauty of the  objects she handles 

‘There are bodies in the streets. It puts broken statues into perspective’ 

 

Private Sam York: a 27-year-old female American soldier from the Deep South.  She was not part of the initial invasion but has now been posted as part of the  U.S. military division tasked with safeguarding the museum, which suffered extensive looting after the 2003 invasion. She warms to her role and finds a  kind of home in the museum, sweeping the sand and sharing stories 

‘I couldn’t help myself, it was so beautiful, it seemed like the right thing to do – to save it’.

 

Abu Zaman: an ageless character who straddles time and space. He can see the future and tries to affect its course. He is part of the fabric of the museum itself, part caretaker, part touchstone. He is a font of wisdom, history and memories to both Gertrude and Ghalia. Although Abu Zaman is a theatrical creation, he is inspired by the real-life caretaker of the Museum of Iraq in  Baghdad, who was in his post for more than 40 years. 

‘What’s the point in seeing the future if no one will listen to you?’

 

Nasiya: An Arab woman who is timeless. Present in all periods, she  appears at the opening of the museum, an individual, but also a voice for the  people; the forgotten of the city 

‘You know what they used to call it – Saddam’s gift shop. Not for us. Next, it will only be open to tourists and students. You don’t trust us after what happened,  but how can you blame us?’ 

 

There is also a Chorus, led by Abu Zaman, but spoken by all the members of the acting company, in Arabic and English. The Chorus bears witness to what has happened and what may or will happen in this place; despite, and because of, the actions of the characters. It knits THEN, NOW and LATER into a  theatrical presentation that includes the audience. 

‘What will be left when the Waters subside?’