If Only the Dead Could Listen
Two exiles. One interview room. No easy answers.
A Kosova Albanian asylum seeker and the Albanian-born interpreter assigned to his case collide in a British police station in a darkly comic, ultimately tragic play about exile, prejudice and dignity.
Paperback $19.00 · £18.00 · €17.00 · ISBN 978-0-9801896-9-8
New2026
edition
A police interview that becomes a reckoning
Who would have thought that a trip to Harrods would end in a night in the cells?
Leka Trimi, a Kosova Albanian, is an intelligent, educated man with a dark secret. Having escaped the horrors of his homeland, he is now in custody at a police station near London. His only hope is Alma Stone, born Alma Gurabardhi in Tirana, a researcher who has built a new life in Britain and has little patience for the refugees from the country she left behind.
What begins as a routine interview becomes a charged, darkly funny and finally devastating encounter between two exiles who have made very different peace with leaving home. Blending black comedy, epic tragedy and bureaucratic absurdity, If Only the Dead Could Listen brings the asylum debate down to the level of individual lives, and lets no one off easily.
First staged at the MAC Theatre in Birmingham in February 2006 with support from Arts Council England, the play prompted packed post-show discussions and coverage in the British, Albanian and Kosovar press. Twenty years after its world première, its questions about migration, assimilation, nationalism and prejudice, including prejudice within immigrant communities, remain strikingly relevant.
“A hard-hitting play about the plight of asylum seekers in Britain.”
Birmingham Mail
The complete play, with everything around it
The 2026 Globic Press edition presents the full text alongside the material that shaped and followed it, for readers, students, actors and directors alike.
Paperback, 5.5 × 8.5 in. Distributed worldwide by Ingram.
- A Note on the British Asylum Systemby Professor Adrian Blackledge, University of Birmingham
- IntroductionGëzim Alpion on exile, impartiality and why he writes “to disturb people”
- If Only the Dead Could ListenThe complete play in five scenes
- Appendix I: VouchersPraise for, and a bibliography of, the 2001 tragedy the play grew from
- Appendix II: On stageThe 2006 and 2008 productions, audience responses, and a select bibliography of previews, reviews and interviews
Twenty-five years in the making
- 2001
Alpion writes Vouchers, a six-scene tragedy built on a conflict between two expatriates.
- 2002
Vouchers is performed at the Festival of Contemporary European Plays in Huddersfield.
- 2006
World première of If Only the Dead Could Listen at the MAC Theatre, Birmingham, supported by Arts Council England.
- 2008
Revived at the MAC and the Arena Theatre, Wolverhampton. First edition published by Globic Press.
- 2026
The new Globic Press edition brings the play back into print for a new generation of readers.
Directed and designed by Marcus Fernando for Dreamscape Theatre Company, the original production starred Richard Attlee (Kenton in BBC Radio 4’s The Archers) as Leka and Tina Hofman as Alma, with music by Mark Taylor.
Sometimes funny, sometimes shocking, always thought-provoking
“This is an intriguing play: heartfelt and controversial… Leka Trimi, the protagonist, is a fascinating figure, and a challenge for any actor to play, ranging from the clown to the philosopher, from the angry outcast to the bereaved lover.”
“I was staggered, shocked and moved by this play which presented the immigration issue from a whole new angle.”
“This is not comfortable theatre, but is compelling, and challenges audiences to engage with difficult issues which are both contemporary and timeless.”
“Leka is every refugee stranded in a foreign land…; so is Alma who, in spite of being an intellectual, is treated as a second-class citizen.”
“The story was paced and well-written, with a twist in the tail to leave the audience thinking for a while after they left their seats.”
“Immigrants are all too often seen as a threat and that worries Gëzim Alpion… [who] has written a play exposing the frustrations and tragedies of asylum seekers in his adopted Britain.”
“If the dead could listen, they would hear… that their deaths and sufferings are not forgotten and were not in vain.”
“Vouchers is exceptional in having a conflict between two expatriates at its core. This allows the play to explore themes about the nature of migration and the challenges and traumas of having left one’s homeland.”
“An English play with Albanian rhythm.”
For classrooms and companies
For educators
A compact, teachable text for courses in theatre studies, migration and refugee studies, sociology, political science, European and Balkan studies, and human rights.
- An asylum-system primer by Professor Adrian Blackledge
- The playwright’s introduction on exile and impartiality
- Production history, audience responses and reception bibliographies
- Priced for adoption at $19 / £18 / €17
For theatre-makers
Five scenes, one police station, four principal roles and four smaller parts that the original production doubled across a company of five. Written for minimal staging.
- Premiered with Arts Council England support (2006)
- Revived at the MAC and the Arena Theatre, Wolverhampton (2008)
- A lead role that ranges “from the clown to the philosopher”
Publication information
| Title | If Only the Dead Could Listen |
|---|---|
| Author | Gëzim Alpion |
| Publisher | Globic Press, Arlington, VA |
| Published | October 1, 2026 (first edition 2008) |
| Format | Paperback, 5.5 × 8.5 in |
| ISBN | 978-0-9801896-9-8 |
| Price | US $19.00 · UK £18.00 · EU €17.00 |
| Subjects | Drama; immigration and emigration; political theatre |
| Distribution | Worldwide through Ingram |
Media and bookseller resources
- Read the publication announcement
- Download cover image (JPG)
- Review copies, interviews and the press release: books@globic.press
- Bulk and event orders: books@globic.press
- Booksellers: order through Ingram, ISBN 978-0-9801896-9-8