Bones in the Desert
BOOK TICKETS.
BOOK TICKETS.
No lift access to performance studio.
No refunds or exchanges on tickets purchased.
Content Warnings listed below.EVENT DETAILS
Wednesday 2nd December 2026
£16/ £13 Student
2pm & 6pm
Duration: 60 mins
Ages 13+ and adults
Half Moon presents BONES IN THE DESERT by Joe Nerssessian for ages 13+ and adults: an urgent new play about memory, belonging and the shadows of war.
Two lives. One past. A hundred years apart. A story that refuses to stay buried.
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.
Thematic content warnings:
This production explores difficult historical and contemporary themes unflinchingly. It contains graphic descriptions of violence, including sexual assault, hate speech, historical accounts of mass atrocities and frank depictions of contemporary sectarian conflict.
Language guidance:
References to sex, alcohol and drug use, suicide, misogyny and associated sexual violence, overt racism and poor mental health.
Technical content warnings:
This is an immersive theatre experience where the audience stands and moves around in close proximity to other audience members and the actors. At times, the soundtrack will be loud and reflect sounds and noises depicting violence, protest and discrimination. Bones in the Desert is an immersive production. There is no assigned seating and audiences remain standing throughout the performance.
“This is daring new writing and an enjoyable watch for teens and adults alike. We are enormously lucky to have such quality work in the children’s theatre sector.”