THE SKY IS SAFE by Matthew Zajac

Image 'Sara' © Nihad al Turk

THE SKY IS SAFE wins the first of Summerhall's 2017 Lustrum Awards !


Edinburgh Festivals Magazine (Miriam Larrainzar) ✭✭✭✭✭
​"The Sky is Safe is an emotionally charged and politically powerful masterpiece... a beautiful and accessible script about the Syrian tragedy...The energy and chemistry between both performers, including Zajac himself, is hypnotising. The other half of the two-hander, Dana Hajal, gives an extraordinary and emotionally draining performance... If you are willing to open your eyes and be taken through an emotional journey which will shake you to your core, book your tickets now." 
​READ THE FULL REVIEW

Edinburgh Fringe Guru (Catherine Meek) ✭✭✭✭✭
“…a beautiful, thoughtful and creative must-see piece of theatre.”
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The Herald (Keith Bruce) ✭✭✭✭
 "Both poetic and politically-nuanced, this important piece of theatre is now on tour across Scotland...Don't miss a chance to see it." 
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Common Space (Tara Fitzpatrick)
“…a clear and uncompromising take on the misery and injustice of Europe’s Refugee Crisis…Hajaj shifts, seemingly effortlessly, from one character to the other portraying a variety of emotion and range…a magnified insight into the complex turmoil experienced by female refugees…The Sky is Safe feels like necessary theatre… despite leaving viewers both heartbroken and enraged, the play ends, appropriately, on the word “hope”.”
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The Wee Review (Claire Wood) ✭✭✭✭
"Matthew Zajac is a man with a heart, an ear for a story and a fierce sense of justice. His previous show, The Tailor of Inverness, was a stunning example of storytelling based on real life. And his new show is no different...Both actors in Dogstar’s new production are superb… Dana Hajaj’s multiple women are presented with grace, compassion and perfectly pitched emotion… a pacey, polished and visually rich production.”

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Fringe Review (Naomi Paul)
“Recommended…we cannot help but be engaged…a committed, necessary and urgent production.  These are stories that need to be heard and we need to hear them.”
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June and Winter Magazine (Tara Fitzpatrick)
"Harrowing and insightful, The Sky is Safe is an anti-war play which gauges with the effects of British corporate interests in the Middle East. Yet the play’s focus is almost entirely on the experiences of women, exploring the ramifications of wars, started primarily by men, on the lives of the female population".
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​“…powerful and engaging.”
Allan Radcliffe, The Times
 
“Dynamically acted by Zajac and Dana Hajaj in Ben Harrison’s good-looking production for Dogstar, it gives voice to women displaced by war in the Middle East, while implicating the West in making those wars economically possible in the first place.”
Mark Fisher, The Scotsman
 
“This timely, urgent work is convincingly delivered by Zajac himself and Palestinian / Lebanese actor Dana Hajaj, and with an evocative set design by Nihad Al Turk…full of compelling fury and hope.”
David Kettle, The List




David from Portugal - audience member
"A great performance. Very touching. It reveals the true stories of real lives of the ones who suffer with the war in Syria. It helps to understand a bit what happens with the refugees we see in the news but whose stories no one listens to".


Una from Scotland - audience member
"Beautiful set design and use of music, poetry and multimedia which set the story off really well. The two actors were excellent in their interactions and story powerfully told and certainly hits home".

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Marcus from Scotland - audience member
A powerful reminder of what is happening in Syria and Turkey today. We attended with two Syrian refugees.
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with Dana Hajaj & Matthew Zajac
Director:  Ben Harrison   Set:  Nihad Al Turk   Costume:   Ali Maclaurin   Music & Sound:  Pippa Murphy  
 Video:  Tim Reid   Choreography:  Dawn Hartley
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World Premiere: Edinburgh Festival Fringe Summerhall followed by a tour of Scotland from August 31 to September 23
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Dogstar is a European touring theatre company based in the Scottish Highlands around Inverness, one of Europe’s fastest growing small cities.  We commission, produce and tour new plays by writers from the north of Scotland and elsewhere.  We aim to present our varied audiences with engaging and entertaining theatre which combines the new and the traditional, the classical and the experimental, drawing on accumulated experience and contemporary innovation.

​From its early Highland tours, the company has extended its reach, now touring across the UK and internationally, with over 170 performances outside Scotland since 2009. These include work presented at Copenhagen Stage Festival Denmark, Umea 2014 European Capital of Culture Sweden, Konfrontacje Teatralne Lublin Poland, Ivan Franko National Theatre Kyiv Ukraine, Les Kurbas Theatre Lviv Ukraine, Malmo Stadsteater Sweden, Brits Off Broadway New York USA, Adelaide Fringe Festival Australia, Societaetstheater Dresden Germany, English Theatre Berlin Germany, Pavilion Theatre Dun Laoighaire Ireland, Clwyd Teatr Cymru Wales, Birmingham Rep England, and Mungo Park AC Denmark. Dogstar  continues to tour to village halls in the Scottish Highlands and Islands as well as to city centre theatres.
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Much of our work springs directly from the Highlands’ defining characteristics: a stunningly beautiful and harsh natural landscape; a tumultuous and marginalised history; a shifting and changing population; a vibrant oral and musical tradition.  Our productions endeavour to speak to our audiences using some of Scotland’s best actors, musicians, writers, directors and designers, collaborating with international artists and partners.  For us, theatre is a place for debate and celebration, for ideas and entertainment, for a few laughs, a few tears, a challenge to the mind and a memorable night out.  At its heart, its about communication between the actor and the audience.  It can’t exist without you. 

​Visit our Blog page where you can read about our recent touring productions and other work.  On other pages, you can also find out a whole lot more about the company's history, productions, touring and people, watch trailers, view photo galleries and find out how to contact us.

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Promoters Section

Our Promoters Section details our requirements for tours currently on offer with downloadable tech specs and high resolution publicity images