Safe Haven review – Kurds left on the sidelines of diplomat-driven drama

Arcola theatre, London
Chris Bowers, a former British diplomat in Iraqi Kurdistan, brings authenticity but not enough human drama to his play about the 1991 Kurdish uprising

This historical drama about the 1991 Kurdish uprising in Iraq abounds with diplomats. There is the Whitehall contingent, speaking in clipped tones about Kurds hiding in the mountains, at the mercy of Saddam Hussein’s armed forces. There’s Iraqi diplomat Al-Tikriti, Saddam’s half-brother, and there is also Chris Bowers, the play’s writer and a former British diplomat in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Bowers infuses the debates and wrangles at the heart of this crisis with an authenticity that carries weight, but it does not make for good drama in itself.

At Arcola theatre, London, until 7 February