Omar El-Khairy
Writer for theatre and film
Theatre, Film and TV Jessica Cooper
+44 (0)20 7393 4488
Email Jessica Cooper
Biography
Omar is a writer for stage and screen.
He was part of the Young Writers Programmes at both the Royal Court Theatre and Soho Theatre and a former Leverhulme Associate Playwright at the Bush Theatre.
His plays include Burst, Sour Lips, The Keepers of Infinite Space and The Chaplain: or, a short tale of how we learned to love good Muslims whilst torturing bad ones.
His last play Homegrown was originally commissioned as part of the National Youth Theatre's 2015 season.
Omar is also a founding member of Paper Tiger, a collective of theatre and filmmakers, working collaboratively and autonomously.
His first short film No Exit received its world premiere at last year's Dubai International Film Festival and screened both nationally and internationally. He is currently working on his first feature-length screenplay.
He is in the process of developing two television projects, including a mixed form documentary with Playground Entertainment.
Omar also holds a PhD in Sociology from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
CV
Theatre
Writer
Written as part of the Nabokov Latitude Festival's 'Reformation Nation' event uniting music, storytelling and spoken word on the dancefloor. Dj Sweetpea hosted by Deefa MC.
Written as part of Come to Where I'm From's London series listen to plays from around the UK online at www.painesplough.com or via the Come to Where I'm From app available free from the app store.
Rahim, also known to some as Michael, lives in a peculiar state. When people approach him they see only his surroundings, themselves, or figments of their own imagination - indeed, everything and anything except him. But Rahim isn't scared. He's no long hiding from the world around him. Today, there will be no more cries for help.
A site-specific theatrical response to the phenomenon of young people leaving Britain to join Islamic State. The immersive piece explores the implications of radicalisation and extremism on the people and communities behind the headlines.
Saeed is a bookseller in Nablus. His father Khalil is a property developer. They're an ordinary family, quietly building a new Palestine. Until one day Saeed is arrested and thrown into gaol. As his future disappears, Saeed finds that the answer to his problems may lie in the past, and in the secrets his father has kept from him ...
DAMASCUS 18:00 - Amina was walking near Fares Al-Khouri Street when three armed men seized her. According to an eyewitness, Amina was bustled into a red Dacia Logan with a bumper sticker of Basel Assad. The men are assumed to be members of the Ba'ath Party militia or one of the security services. Amina's present location is still unknown.
Part of Tamasha Theatre Company’s Small Lives Global Ties project
Reaction piece to the play Charming Man by Gabriel Bisset-Smith
An independent nation rises from the rubble of a defeated colonial regime. Amidst new possibilities for freedom, a quixotic young Sudanese woman dreams of creating a better future. But her equally headstrong mother has other designs - and is hiding secrets of a turbulent past.
Film
Writer
Like many of his generation, Ali has decided to run away from the hardships of war. Along the way, he meets a stranger at a bus stop - an encounter that will change everything ...