Revolution

Secret Box Theatre was founded in May 2026 to stage Revolution by Joud Alsulaiman in the Ballaghaderreen Arts Festival. We are 5 theatre artists from Syria and Ireland who have come together to bring this story to an Irish audience for the first time.

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Revolution by Joud Al Sulaiman is based on true events experienced by the Syrian people during the rule of Hafez Al Assad and his son, Bashar al-Assad. It tells the story of Karim and Israa, a young married couple from Homs who are displaced to Damascus after their home is destroyed.

Karim and Israa live in constant fear: of the regime’s intelligence branch, the prospect of being flung into jail as political prisoners, and of the revolution and consequent civil war coming to their door. The play depicts how many Syrian people balance their public lives and home lives, forced to support the government outside the home whilst privately opposing the regime and living in deep fear of their political views being discovered.

The story is told in a satirical and comedic style. A dark farce, the play is both funny and tragic. The text is written by Joud Al Sulaiman, who also directs the show and features as Karim. Revolution was produced in Beirut in 2025, and this Irish premiere is its first international outing.

Revolution runs in the Ballaghaderreen Arts Festival from August 4th – August 6th at 5pm daily, and audiences are invited to arrive at between 4:00 and 5:00 to enjoy some traditional Syrian desserts and coffee. The show is in the Abbeyfield ROC and is the first such public production to take place in the centre.

Creative Places Ballaghaderreen is an Arts Council-funded initiative led by the Roscommon County Council Arts Office. The vision of Creative Places Ballaghaderreen is that the arts and creativity are central to a vibrant, diverse and proud community. This programme promotes a wider, diverse effort to improve local opportunities to engage in the arts and culture, and to better understand the evolving, new community profile in Ballaghaderreen and the greater Roscommon area.

Creative Places Ballaghaderreen funds this production of Revolution by Joud Alsulaiman.

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Joud Al Sulaiman was born in 1999 in Homs, Syria. He trained at the Theatre Institute of Beirut and is a graduate of their acting, directing and writing programme. Most of his work has been produced in Beirut, including the following works which he wrote and directed: Bill of Works, Like a Dream, and A Nation’s Calamity.

Revolution is his first production in Ireland, although it has been produced before for a Beirut audience and in several festivals in Lebanon.

Along with being an established theatre artist, Joud has also turned his hand to television and has a number of credits including a stint in the fifth season of Al Hayba (Netflix).

Joud plays Karim in Revolution.

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Roulav Maamou is a Kurdish artist from Afrin, Syria. She has lived in Ireland for a number of years and is currently pursuing a career in Accounting as well as her artistic pursuits. A polymath and autodidact, she has previously turned her hand to the worlds of hospitality, food, fashion, and music, and is currently part of the accounts team at Griffdon Engineering in Ballaghaderreen.

A passionate advocate for lifelong learning, Roulav has completed numerous minor and major awards since her arrival in Ireland, and continues to develop her passion for the performing arts.

Roulav lives in Roscommon with her family and in her spare time enjoys reading, listening to and playing music, and going to the gym.

Roulav plays Israa in Revolution.

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Shahed Alsulaiman is a designer from Homs, Syria. Prior to coming to Ireland, she was a student of Interior Design in Lebanon International University, and is planning to continue her training next year in Sligo College of Further Education.

Shahed is an accomplished sketch artist, designer and sculptor, and this is her first foray into the world of Theatre.

Shahed is the set designer for Revolution and also translated the Arabic text into English for international audiences.

Ali Hadad was born in Aleppo and came to Ireland in 2026 after 12 years in Lebanon. He has a number of shorts produced in Lebanon and also featured in the Netflix production Al Hayba, portraying the role of Hassan in season 2.

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Darragh O’Brien is a language teacher and theatre producer from Limerick. Prior to coming to Ballaghaderreen to work on the Irish Refugee Protection Programme, Darragh had a lengthy stint in Galway where he plied his trade as an actor, director, and producer. A founding member of Broken Door Theatre and ThereisBear! Theatre, Darragh is a veteran of several national tours including productions of Martin McDonagh’s The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Patrick Galvin’s The Last Burning, Tony Kushner’s Angels in America,Christina Reid’s Joyriders, which also toured to France, and Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice.

Along with his theatre career, Darragh is also an accomplished musician, and fronted the Galway band Dead Horse Jive for a number of years, during which time the group toured Ireland extensively and released several singles including She’s Got a Master’s Degree and Trigger of Love.

Nowadays, Darragh mostly busies himself with the language training programme in the Abbeyfield ROC, where he is the Education Co-Ordinator. He also writes music for films and has a number of recent credits including Hope and Best Friend by Marek Petrovic, and Gan Am and Ghosted by Oisín Mac Coille.