Paul Sirett: Plays Two

Book excerpt: Includes the plays Worlds Apart, This Other Eden and International Café All the plays in this second volume of Paul Sirett's collected plays focus on dislocation and the clash of civilisations. Set in an airport immigration office, Worlds Apart interweaves the fates of five detainees and the officers handling them, with the Tibetan folk tale of Sukyi Nyima. In Crusade a group of Western tourists break down in the West Bank, reacting in different ways to their situation. This Other Eden portrays the disastrous personal and political divisions within a classical string quartet. The collection ends with the short play International Café which brings together the stories of a restaurant's staff and customers, and was specifically written to be performed in restaurants.