Metamorphoses (Paperback)

'We are here to make sense of it all.'

From the everyday to the astonishing, and the ordinary to the miraculous, the Roman poet Ovid's stories of epic impossibilities explore the power of transformation, the resilience of humans, and the wonder of life.

The myths of Metamorphoses have inspired generations of writers, including Shakespeare. Over two thousand years later, they are reimagined for our world by three leading British playwrights, and feature anarchy, shape-shifting and a burning chariot of fire.

This entertaining and provocative new play, by Sami Ibrahim, Laura Lomas and Sabrina Mahfouz, was written for the candlelit Sam Wanamaker Playhouse at Shakespeare's Globe, London. It was first performed by four actors in 2021, and directed by Globe Associate Artistic Director, Sean Holmes and Associate Artistic Director of Headlong, Holly Race Roughan.

Sami Ibrahim is a writer from London. His plays include: Multiple Casualty Incident (The Yard Theatre, London, 2024); A Sudden Violent Burst of Rain (Paines Plough / Rose Theatre, Kingston / Gate Theatre, London, 2022); two Palestinians go dogging (Royal Court Theatre, London, 2022; winner of the inaugural Theatre Uncut Political Playwriting Award in 2019); Metamorphoses, co-written with Laura Lomas and Sabrina Mahfouz, after Ovid (Shakespeare's Globe, 2021); Wind Bit Bitter, Bit Bit Bit Her (2018 VAULT Festival, London); Iron Dome Fog Dome (The Yard, London, 2017) and Force of Trump (Brockley Jack).

He has worked at the Almeida Theatre as a member of their Creative Board, developing and producing From the Ground Up, a piece of immersive theatre.

(Author photo by Ali Wright)

Laura Lomas is a playwright and screenwriter. Her plays include: The House Party after August Strindberg's Miss Julie (Chichester Festival Theatre / Headlong / Frantic Assembly, 2024); Metamorphoses, co-written with Sami Ibrahim and Sabrina Mahfouz, after Ovid (Shakespeare's Globe, 2021); Chaos (National Theatre Connections); The Blue Road (Dundee Rep, Derby Theatre, Royal & Derngate and Theatre Royal Plymouth youth companies); Joanne (Clean Break & Soho Theatre); Bird (Root Theatre and Echo); Blister (Paines Pough/Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama); Open Heart Surgery (Theatre Uncut); Come to Where I’m From (Paines Plough); Some Machine (Paines Plough/Rose Bruford); The Island (Nottingham Playhouse/Det Norske Oslo); Us Like Gods (Hampstead, Heat and Light); Gypsy Girl (Paines Plough Later at Soho) and Wasteland (New Perspectives/Derby Theatre; shortlisted for the Brian Way Award).

Radio plays include My Boy (BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play; Bronze SONY Award for best radio drama) and Lucy Island (BBC Radio 3).

Her screen work includes Rough Skin (Touchpaper/Channel 4; shortlisted for Best British Short at British Independent Film Awards and Raindance Film Festival). She has also written two episodes of Glue (E4/Eleven Films), and has been commissioned by BBC Radio 4, Manchester Royal Exchange, and jointly by Clean Break and Birmingham Rep. She was a MacDowell Colony Fellow 2013, and a Yaddo Fellow 2014.

Sabrina Mahfouz is a writer and performer. Her work for the theatre includes: Metamorphoses, co-written with Laura Lomas and Sami Ibrahim, after Ovid (Shakespeare's Globe, 2021); A History of Water in the Middle East (Royal Court, 2019); and a stage adaptation of Malorie Blackman's Noughts & Crosses (Pilot Theatre, 2019).

Her most recent publications as editor include Smashing It: Working Class Artists on Life, Art and Making it Happen (Saqi, 2019) and Poems From a Green and Blue Planet (Hachette, 2019).

Author photo by Greg Morrison

Ovid (full name Publius Ovidius Naso, 43 BCE - 17 CE) was a Roman poet noted especially for his Ars amatoria and Metamorphoses.