Ahead of the UK premiere at the Young Vic, the acclaimed actor reflects on playing Musa, working with Omar Elerian, and why theatre should never give answers.
As the Young Vic prepares to stage the long-awaited UK premiere of Rajiv Joseph’s Pulitzer and Tony-nominated Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, actor Ammar Haj Ahmad steps into the role of Musa — an Iraqi translator suspended between identities, loyalties, and worlds. The play, a heady collision of dark comedy, surreal philosophy, and the brutal aftermath of war, opens December 2 under the inventive eye of director Omar Elerian.
Ammar’s own career spans continents and forms, from The Jungle (Young Vic/West End/St. Ann’s Warehouse/Broadway) to Macbeth at the Lyric Hammersmith, LOVE at the National Theatre, Goats at the Royal Court, and One Thousand and One Nights in Toronto and Edinburgh. On screen, he has appeared in Maigret, Casualty, Agatha Raisin, and a range of independent films including The Catch, London Tomorrow and Round Trip. Yet Musa, he says, feels different.
Ammar says the play’s script itself served as a compass in navigating Musa’s divided psycheIsha Shah
“What I like about Musa is his earnestness,” he reflects. “He represents millions of the people who pay the price of oppression and occupation.” A man positioned between American marines Tom and Kev and the Iraqi citizens whose lives have been shattered, Musa shoulders the emotional weight of a country still burning.
Ammar says the play’s script itself served as a compass in navigating Musa’s divided psyche. “The script itself is filled with moments that are in and of themselves great anchors to rely on, learn from and use to go to that psychological place that Musa, in conclusion, needs to be at,” he explains.
The play’s tonal complexity — veering from surreal humour to profound metaphysical questioning — requires a precise, responsive creative process. Working with director Omar Elerian made that balance possible. “You do your bit as a performer,” Ammar says, “and then Omar knows exactly the borders and limits inside which we can play, to deliver and meet the ends of those humorous, tragic or surreal moments.”
Early discussions with Elerian focused on restraint — the quiet pressure of trauma. “I think we were on the same page from the beginning,” he says. “Subtlety in pain and restraining from showing it is one of the main things to focus on when playing Musa.”
Ask what defines Elerian’s vision, and he answers with affectionate exaggeration: “Everything. He keeps tuning.”
As the story explores faith, guilt, loss and the futility of violence, Ammar feels all of its themes resonate — and refuses
to isolate one favourite moment in the play. “I will never be able to pick just one.”
And themes that have resonated most deeply with him personally? “None and all,” he says.
Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo runs at the Young Vic Theatre in London from December 2 – 31 January 31 2026Isha Shah
He also hopes audiences will approach the narrative not with trepidation but curiosity. “The view of the Middle East is already complicated,” he notes. “The play might open the door for healthy questioning of the past.”
Comparing this project to his previous work, he nods gravely. “Every theatre project differs from the rest. And this one is more loaded than most of what I’ve done before.”
Still, what he loves about live theatre is unchanged for him: “The audience reaction in every beat… and at the end.”
As for what he hopes they take away from this particular play?
“Whatever they feel or question, I want it to be filled with raging fire — the fire of question. Theatre mustn’t give answers.”
In a landscape of ghosts, violence, and unlikely philosophy — even from a Tiger — fire may indeed be the most truthful inheritance.
Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo runs at the Young Vic Theatre in London from December 2 – 31 January 31 2026. www.youngvic.org
Vivek Nityananda 
Taraash Mehrotra as Nikhil
