The Alleviating Art
About
This one-act, one-actor play draws from the letters of Lady Mary Montagu, a pioneering advocate who revolutionised public health in England.
Her letters recount her time in Constantinople, where she witnessed the practice of inoculation—an early method to protect against smallpox, which was ravaging England at the time.
The Alleviating Art explores Lady Mary's decision to bring this practice to England and campaign for its adoption. Performed in our atmospheric Lower Gallery, watch Lady Mary's decision to face fierce opposition and inoculate her young daughter—the first recipient of smallpox inoculation on English soil—unfold.
Our panel discussion following the play will explore the inspiration behind the play and the relevance Lady Mary's story holds today.The panelists will include Silke Ackermann (Director of the History of Science Museum), Robert Myers (playwright) and Catherine Cusack (actor).
This event will feature a one-act performance, an audience Q&A and a drinks reception.
Please note that Saturday's performance will be filmed.
Creative Team
ROBERT MYERS - Playwright
An acclaimed playwright, translator, and scholar, Robert's work spans history, race, and cultural encounters. Known for his compelling explorations of political and historical themes, Robert has written over fifteen plays, including Unmanned and Dead of Night. His work often delves into the intersection of race and politics, making him a distinctive and important voice in contemporary theatre.
Robert is noted for his work as a translator of contemporary Arabic theatre with his collaborator, Nada Saab. Together they bring critical Middle Eastern voices to the global stage.
Robert has lectured on political theatre, historical theatre, Orientalism and Middle Eastern theatre at Yale, CUNY and Cornell. He is a Professor of English at the American University of Beirut, where he teaches on contemporary theatre, world theatre and Latin American literature among other subjects.
SAHAR ASSAF - Director
Sahar Assaf is a Lebanese theatre-maker and Executive Artistic Director of Golden Thread Productions in San Francisco, the first U.S. theatre company dedicated to works from and about the Middle East. She is a Consultant to the Theatre and Performing Arts Commission at the Ministry of Culture in Saudi Arabia. Sahar's Recent directing credits include The Tutor by Torange Yeghiazarian (New Conservatory Theatre Center), Stamp Me by Yussef El Guindi, and Drowning in Cairo by Adam Ashraf Elsayigh (Golden Thread).
For the Theatre Initiative at the American University of Beirut, co-founded with collaborator Robert Myers, Sahar directed a diverse range of works, including plays by García Lorca, Shakespeare, and Issam Mahfouz. She directed site-specific, devised, immersive, and documentary plays addressing pressing social and political issues.
A Fulbright recipient, she holds an MA in Theatre Studies from Central Washington University and an MA in Sociology from the American University of Beirut.
She proudly balances (or tries to!) her theatre work with her role as a mother to Zad!
Performers
CATHERINE CUSACK - Actor
Catherine Cusack is a versatile and accomplished actor whose career spans across theatre, television, and film. With a rich experience in the performing arts, she has graced some of the UK’s most prestigious stages, delivering powerful performances in both classical and contemporary works. Her theatre credits include standout roles in productions such as Passing at Park Theatre and Further than the Furthest Thing at the Minack. She has also appeared in Dancing at Lughnasa and The Crucible at the Lyric Belfast, Spring Awakening at the Almeida, and All That Fall at Jermyn St Theatre and in New York.
On screen, Catherine has brought her remarkable range to a variety of well-known television roles. She has appeared in popular series such as EastEnders, Endeavour, Coronation Street and Doctor Who.
In film, Catherine has appeared in Finding Neverland, Conspiracy of Silence, Boxed, and The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne.
TARIK BESHIR - Musician
Tarik Beshir is a vocalist, oud player and student of the style and techniques of late 19th and early 20th century song in Ottoman Egypt.
Beshir is a skilled oud player and songwriter who has a been prominent member of the Oxford music scene for over twenty years.
He plays the oud in the Egyptian and Ottoman Egypt style of the 19th century. He is a member of the Egyptian Renaissance Ensemble Oxford Maqam and Oxfordshire’s Brickwork Lizards and other musical projects including the Oxford Maqam Big Band and The Egyptian Tango Band.
Tarik is particularly interested in the art of vocal improvisation within the set classical forms, a tradition that defines the early 20th century recording generation.
