#WeAreArrested Tickets

Directed by Sophie Ivatts, this is the first-ever co-production between the Royal Shakespeare Company and Arcola. The theme of the play revolves around the price of publishing the truth in an era of fake news.

It is an adaptation of the book which is a deeply personal tale of Can Dündar, who was arrested for publishing footage of his government supplying Syria with weapons. The play does justice to the original source and is an excellent dramatisation of the events that took place. The true story is set in Turkey. However, the play is devoid of all references to the location. It has been directed in such a way that the incident transcends location and can happen anywhere in the world. The play delivers its message in a very direct and lucid manner, accentuating the gravity of the writer’s predicament.

The Story

One morning, a journalist, who is the editor of the most recognised newspaper in his country, receives a flash-drive that contains incriminating evidence of illegal activity by the government. It reveals that the president of the nation is covertly smuggling weapons into one of the neighbouring countries. The parliament, as well as the masses, are completely oblivious to the fact that the nation is being dragged into an international war. Compelled by his conscience and duty, the journalist publishes the film footage.

The outrage that follows throws his life into disarray. Within no time he is arrested for espionage by the government and jailed in solitary confinement, with no scheduled date for his release. He is forced to leave his wife and son and has to bank on his imagination to survive his imprisonment. The man constantly opposes his captors with his cunning and divisive ways, evading the prison’s restrictions and finding a way to smuggle articles out of prison.

Eventually, he gains his freedom, yet struggles to have a fair hearing because the governments clutch on the media and the legal system was far too strong. The play is a heartrending tale that is a tribute to the courage and determination of threatened journalists across the world.

Good for

Fans of Spy Thrillers | Lovers of True Stories

Critics Reviews

“The play is both a relatively faithful dramatisation of the book and an audacious attempt to interrogate where else its story could take place: all references to Turkey are absent.”
– The Guardian