Grief-stricken by her father’s sudden death, Amelia Alissa travels to her ancestral homeland, Lebanon. Amid the ancient Baalbek ruins and the faded splendour of the Palmyra Hotel, a place alive with memory and myth, she begins to uncover the fragments of her past.

Her journey, entwined with a timeless tale of migration and sacrifice, runs alongside her father’s homecoming story during Lebanon’s civil war in the 1980s. As the two paths converge, Amelia is drawn into the truths of legacy, sacrifice and the meaning of home.

Clockfire Theatre Company is a physical theatre company creating original works through improvisation and collaboration, influenced by training at Jacques Lecoq Theatre School. RUINS أطلال harnesses innovative storytelling, ensemble performance and the distinctive visual language that defines Clockfire’s work.

Following a successful initial season as part of 25A in 2024, RUINS أطلال is now expanded into a full scale work for major presentation within the 2025 Seymour Season.

“A stunningly beautiful work of visual metaphor... (a) splendid meditation on connection and loss ... both evocative and provocative.''

- Theatre Red

“A masterful and punchy piece of physical theatre.''

- Theatre Thoughts

'A raw emotional quest ... a standout production in the current theatrical landscape.”

- Theatre Travels

Grief-stricken by her father’s sudden death, Amelia Alissa travels to her ancestral homeland, Lebanon. Amid the ancient Baalbek ruins and the faded splendour of the Palmyra Hotel, a place alive with memory and myth, she begins to uncover the fragments of her past.

Her journey, entwined with a timeless tale of migration and sacrifice, runs alongside her father’s homecoming story during Lebanon’s civil war in the 1980s. As the two paths converge, Amelia is drawn into the truths of legacy, sacrifice and the meaning of home.

Clockfire Theatre Company is a physical theatre company creating original works through improvisation and collaboration, influenced by training at Jacques Lecoq Theatre School. RUINS أطلال harnesses innovative storytelling, ensemble performance and the distinctive visual language that defines Clockfire’s work.

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”It’s quite rare that I watch a piece of independent theatre and leave pondering its beauty, but Ruins is exactly that. Beautiful.” - CULTURAL BINGE

“it’s a stunningly beautiful work of visual metaphor.” - THEATRE RED

“A riveting piece of physical, emotional theatre … is rich in theatrical treasures that unearth emotions and warmth buried recently or long ago… ensure we are touched by this small work’s huge humanity.” - SYDNEY ARTS GUIDE

“You get to see the actors in the heat of battle, the sweat beading on their foreheads, you see the

endless hours of blocking manifest themselves in beautifully crisp staging.” - THEATRE THOUGHTS