NINE PARTS OF DESIRE

'God created sexual desire in ten parts; then he gave nine parts to women and one to men.'

In Iraqi-American playwright Heather Raffo's new play, an Iraqi woman artist known for her daring use of the female nude, and rumoured affairs with men tied to the regime, paints into life an astonishing generation of women, exposing their radical, sexy and ultimately human stories.

'But I am good at being naked I mean, that's what I do, in secret.'

Nine Parts of Desire challenges both the rapidly changing Iraqi feminine identity and the western view of what such women must be thinking.

This is a past event
Designer
Direction
Lighting

Cast

Heather Raffo

@bushtheatre

Bush Green

Conversations, dispatches and ideas from the Bush Theatre.

Go to BushGreen
New Artistic Director Announced: Taio Lawson

The Bush Theatre trustees have appointed Taio Lawson as the theatre’s new Artistic Director and Co-CEO. Taio joins the company in Summer 2025 and he will oversee the final season of plays programmed by Lynette Linton, who leaves in March 2025. Taio’s first season of work will launch in early 2026. Taio will lead the…

Charles Holloway OBE: From West London to the West End

Benedict Lombe’s play Shifters transferring from the Bush Theatre to the West End was a milestone moment: for the artists involved, the audiences they engaged, and the future of British theatre it will inspire. It offers a glimpse of what commercial theatre in this country could be. And as Bush audience members and supporters know,…

Shifting the Narrative: Radical Love Commissions

A new initiative, inviting eight Global Majority artists to write short-form responses to the West End production of Benedict Lombe’s hit play Shifters, which is at the Duke of York’s Theatre, London, until 12 October.  We’re delighted to be launching this new opportunity, alongside ATG Entertainment West End Creative Learning and the Producers of Shifters.…