THE CEREMONY

The Ceremony is a searingly honest take on non-binary marriage with a heartbreaking twist written by Iman Qureshi.

The Ceremony was part of an anthology of digital shorts entitled MicroPlays: Polarity in which five playwrights were asked the question “do our differences have to divide us?”

Conceived and directed for camera by Open Sky’s Lisle Turner, each microplay had to observe certain rules in deference to its theatrical origins: a maximum of three principal actors, a single location, action in continuous time, diagetic music only and no special effects.

The MicroPlays were designed to appeal to audiences traditionally excluded from the cultural discourse, were mobile phone friendly and released via social media.

The plays were watched by over 650,000 people online and the project won a Digital Culture Award for Digital Inclusion before also being announced as The Winners Winner by head judge Kanye King CBE.

SHORT FILM. 10MINS.

PRESS

  • “IMAN QURESHI’s piece gives her characters room to breathe. A non-binary couple stand before a celebrant. Rather than embarking on a life together, though, they are formalising the end of their relationship. It’s a touching goodbye that’s gently subversive, upending the corrosive break-up conventions of rejection and recrimination.”

    THE STAGE

  • “As thought-provoking as they are concise. BEST DRAMA OF THE WEEK, LIVE & ONLINE”

    — THE METRO

  • “Ingenuity twinkles throughout a bite-sized box set. A teasing half-hour of stylish snippets. ”

    — THE STAGE

  • “MicroPlays tell vastly different stories. Each play is slick, performed well and articulate. If a project is attempting to cross over to a new theatre audience, I’m glad it’s one as fresh and high quality as this.”

    — THEATRE WEEKLY *****

AWARDS

Digital Culture Award Winners 2022
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CAST

  • AMAKA OKAFOR

    ESTHER

  • YASSER ZADEH

    RAF

  • ERIKA POOLE

    OFFICIANT

CREW

Writer - Iman Qureshi
Director - Lisle Turner
Producer - Martina Klich
Director Of Photography - Ahmet Husseyin
Editor - Flaura Atkinson
Production Designer - Fiona Mclean
Costume Designer - Carl Davies
Production Manager - Mina Nakamura
Focus Puller - Samuel Harding
2nd Assistant Camera - Rich Bertenshaw
Gaffer - John Quarrell
Sound Recordist - Adam Bertenshaw
Hair And Make-Up - Eva-Jean Wright
Runner - Will Tennant
Catering - Benny Holden
Catering Assistant - Poppy Mason
Colourist - Ellory Payne
Sound Editor - Andy Coles
Head of Development - Tony Maher
Post Producer - Jess Netley-Verrinder 
Online Editor - Dave Jones
Press Representative - Gareth McLean
Production photography - Kie Cummings
Digital Strategist - Clark Boyd
Artistic Director For Open Sky - Claire Coaché

THANKS TO:
Arts Alive and Flicks in the Sticks, Courtyard Hereford, Rural Media, Take Two Films, Media Dog, Shack Revolution, Feral Productions, Onsight, The Ford Collective, Hay Festival, Issy and Bella Floral Design, The Quirky Cute Boutique

Funded by Arts Council England National Lottery Funding, with financial support from Wrapt Films and The Elmley Foundation. Supported by Turtle Key Arts.