Mesocafé

DAPHNE ALEXANDER (Bisan)
Daphne Alexander grew up in Cyprus and lives in London. She speaks English, Greek and French fluently. A LAMDA graduate, she started as a regular on Casualty (BBC 1), and took part in TV series such as House of Saddam (HBO) and The Amazing Mrs Pritchard (BBC), and films such as Roman Polanski's The Ghost and Osunsami's The Fourth Kind. She has lately starred in Anthony Maras' award-winning film The Palace. Her theatre work includes Sea At Night at the Hackney Empire Studio, Change at the Arcola and Hippolytus at the White Bear.

NASRI SAYEGH (Yusif)
A stage and film actor, Nasri Sayegh graduated from l’Ecole Supérieure d’Art Dramatique, in Paris, under the direction of JC.Cotillard. He has featured in theatre, TV and film productions in Lebanon, Canada and France. His TV work includes the Emmy Award winner Shankaboot, a co-production between the BBC World Service Trust and a Lebanese production company. He has appeared in What’s Going On (Dir. Jocelyn Saab, Lebanon 2009) and Le procès d'Oscar Wilde (Dir. Christian Merlhiot, France 2010).

AHLAM 'ARAB (Zaynab)
A stage director, and a theatre and TV actor of great renown in her native Iraq, Ahlam Arab graduated from Baghdad’s Higher Institute of Fine Arts in 1978. She continued her postgraduate studies in the UK, before returning to Iraq in the 1980s to become a regular on Iraqi TV and stage productions. At the end of the 1990s, Ahlam returned to the UK where she established a theatre troupe that has staged a number of productions in London.

JULIAN BOOTE (Robert)
Julian Boote cites that it was whilst playing The Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz and Inspector Goole in An Inspector Calls when still at school that the acting bug well and truly got its teeth into him.  His passion was further bolstered by three summer seasons at Manchester Youth Theatre and a BA Honours in Film & Art at Reading University.  After taking a small detour producing and writing three feature films in the late 90s and early 00s, Julian has since returned to acting, chalking up a number of credits of note, including Robert North in the Mesocafe, Carter in DeadTime, Mr Frazer in The Killing Zone, and Jez in Small Time Obsession. Julian has a wife, a daughter, an ever-expanding DVD collection, and a number of writing projects - all vying for his attention.  Sleeping is his favoured hobby.

HOUDA ECHOUAFNI (Suad)      Houda Echouafni is an actress of Moroccan/ Egyptian origin. Her work for television includes 'Waking The Dead'  BBC, 'Green Wing' Channel 4, 'Hotel Babylon' BBC, 'Doctors' BBC,'Sea of Souls' BBC and 'The Grid' Carnival films. Her Film work includes,' For Neda' HBO.  'Piercing Brightness'. '31north 62 east', 'The Mark of Cain' HBO/BBC, 'War Hero', 'Birds of Heaven' Canal+, 'Dirty war' and 'Death of Klinghoffer'. Theatre credits include  'After the spring', The Royal Court  directed by Simon Godwin, 'Plan D', Tristan Bates Theatre, 'Farad' at Soho Theatre. She is currently playing the lead role of Shahrazad in THE ONE THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS directed by Tim Supple. 

CAROLINE JAY (Sheila)
A film, TV and theatre actor, Caroline graduated with a degree in English, before joining the East 15 Acting School. From there, she joined the Victoria Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent, before working in theatres throughout the country. Her debut TV role was in Angles, the precursor to Casualty and Holby City. Caroline has gone on to work with Alan Ayckbourn, appearing in an art-house feature film, and featuring in countless short films, promotional films and photo shoots. She has written and performed her own play at the Edinburgh Festival.

KHALID LAITH (Hisham)
Originally from Bahrain, Khalid grew up and was educated between the Middle East, the UK, and the United States. He trained as an actor at Central School of Speech and Drama in London. Next to his acting work, Khalid translates Arabic plays into English for The Royal Court Theatre, edits short films and documentaries, and composes and produces his own music. Khalid’s film work includes The Devil’s Double, The Mark of Cain. He has featured in numerous TV productions, including The Hamburg Cell and Occupation.

ANDY LUCAS (Ziyad)
Andy Lucas is an award winning actor/director with 30 years experience. He was trained in the Stanislavski method at East 15 Drama School under Margaret Berry and Joan Littlewood. His first film break was in John Schlesinger's 'Yanks'. Andy's long, international film career includes:- Warren Beatty's 'Reds', 'Quadrophenia', 'Half Moon Street', 'Sexy Beast', 'Alien Vs Predator' and 'How to Lose Friends and Alienate People'. His extensive Television career encompasses almost every memorable British drama and comedy, including:- 'Minder', 'The Professionals', 'Birds of a Feather', and 'The Bill'. His West End Theatre credits include 'Across from the Garden Of Allah' at the Comedy Theatre (with Glenda Jackson and Nigel Hawthorne) and 'Extremities' (with Helen Mirren).

KAWA RASUL (Tawfiq)
Kawa Rasul is an actor and filmmaker living and working in London. Born in Kurdistan, Northern Iraq, he moved to Europe after completing his secondary education (Vocational College). Since settling in the UK, he has been involved in theatre, film and TV productions. His theatre work includes Dimoqratiyyah wa Nus / A Democracy and a Half (Directed by Ahlam Arab) and The Eight Days of the Week (Directed by Ahlam Arab). He is in post-production for Baby-Lon, a short film he wrote and directed. Kawa views cinema as a mirror of reality, and believes it to be an essential ingredient in our lives.

ZAIN RASHEED (Masud)
Born in Babylon, Zain moved with his family to the UK in his early teens. At the age of 17, he was cast by the Iraqi theatre director Ahlam Arab to appear in her production of Dimoqratiyyah wa Nus / A Democracy and a Half. This collaboration was followed by a role in Ahlam Arab’s next play, The Eight Days of the Week. Zain traces his love of cinema back to his first experience of watching Charlie Chaplin shorts, while still four or five years of age. Zain is studying for a degree in media studies.