Saints of Damour

Awards & Nominations

2025 Broadway Theatre Awards

Nominations

• Best Director — Anthony Skuse

• Best Play — Saints of D’Amour

• Best Actor — Anthony Makhlouf

• Best Performance in a Supporting Role — Deborah Galanos

• Best Performance in a Supporting Role - Niclole Chamoun

Winners

• Best Direction of a Play — Anthony Skuse

• Best Play — Saints of D’Amour

• Best Supporting Performer in a Play — Deborah Galanos (Saints of D’Amour)

2025 Sydney Theatre Awards

Nomination

• Performance in a Supporting Role in an Independent Production — Deborah Galanos

Winner

• Performance in a Supporting Role in an Independent Production — Deborah Galanos

★★★★★ — Honi Soit
“A must-watch… powerful, emotionally devastating and beautifully staged.”

★★★★☆ — Stage Noise
“Saints of Damour cements James Elazzi as one of Australia’s freshest and most formidable theatrical voices — mining emotional depths with clarity, coherence and razor-sharp insight.”

★★★★☆ — Suzie Goes See
“A tender tale of forbidden romance and migration… built on irrefutable authenticity, with empathetic and multidimensional characters.”

★★★★☆ — Sydney Arts Guide
“Elazzi’s script is perfectly paced and beautifully written… balancing humour with profound pathos.”

★★★★☆ — City Hub
“An utterly essential play… tackling heavy subjects with remarkable emotional force.”

Set against the backdrop of 1970s Lebanon, the play follows Pierre, a humble tomato farmer from the coastal village of Damour, whose life is forever changed when the civil war forces him to flee with his mother, Zienab, to Australia. As he builds a new life in rural Queensland and later in Sydney, Pierre is haunted by the memories of his past and the life he left behind, while navigating the challenges of starting anew.

James Elazzi masterfully intertwines personal and political narratives, shedding light on the complexities of Lebanese-Australian identity. As Pierre confronts his past and present, the play delves into the sacrifices made for acceptance, the resilience needed to live authentically, and the power of love across borders and generations.

“At its core, this play is about love – how it can be tested, taken from us, and yet remain unwavering,” says Elazzi. “I wanted to explore how love endures through war, migration, and time, and the way identity is shaped by culture, family, and history.” (artsreview.com.au)

Critical Acclaim:

• “A tender tale of forbidden romance... built on an irrefutable authenticity.”
  — Suzy Goes See (suzygoessee.com)

• “A new play by James Elazzi is an event, and Saints of Damour is one such. It delivers a remarkable journey across decades, from a 70s fishing village near Beirut, to dreary, baking Goondiwindi, and then to gay 80s Sydney”- stagenoise

• “An utterly essential play... provokes both tears of joy and misery.”
  — City Hub (cityhub.com.au)

• “Elazzi’s ability to mine the emotional depths and drama from every situation with such clarity and coherence... always leaves an audience emotionally drained and artistically satisfied.”
  — Eastside Radio 89.7FM (eastsidefm.org)

• “A profound reminder that migration stories are not only about movement—they are about what is left behind, what is hidden, and what must be reinvented.”
  — Theatre Travels (theatretravels.org)

Production Details:

• Premiere: March 19 – April 5, 2025, at The Loading Dock, Qtopia Sydney

• Director: Anthony Skuse

• Cast: Antony Makhlouf (Pierre), Saro Lepejian (Samir), Deborah Galanos (Zienab), Nicole Chamoun (Layla), Max Cattana

Saints of Damour is a poignant exploration of love's endurance amidst the trials of war, migration, and societal expectations. It’s a testament to the human spirit's capacity for resilience and the enduring quest for identity and belonging.