Bones in the Desert

Berlin, 2022. Artur, a 19-year-old refugee, is stuck in a city that doesn’t feel like home – caught between worlds, between roles and haunted by the ghosts of his escape from the Syrian civil war.

When someone from that journey suddenly reappears, what begins as a joyful reunion soon becomes a reckoning with identity, memory and the question of how to be free. 

From the deserts of 1915 to the chaos of today, Bones in the Desert traces the long shadows of war and the lives it still shapes. With raw honesty and urgency, it confronts mental well- being, racism in contemporary Europe and the devastating cost of silence. 

Written by British-Armenian playwright Joe Nerssessian, this powerful new play speaks directly to young adult audiences with heart, humour and an unflinching gaze. It’s about where we come from, who we carry with us and what it means to belong. 

Presented in an immersive style with a pulsating contemporary soundtrack, Bones in the Desert is the latest production from Half Moon, the UK’s leading small-scale young people’s venue and touring company.