Presented in association with Arts Canteen as part of the Arab Women Artists Now (AWAN) Festival at Rich Mix.
Curated by Taghrid Choucair-Vizoso, the plays presented are:
Them by Samah Sabawi (Australia/Palestine)
Directed by Tanushka Marah
Performed by Nezar Alderazi and Lara Sawalha
A tragicomedy about love, honor and sacrifice in times of war, violence and immorality. Caught in a war zone, five young people count down the days before they can sail away to Europe. Who leaves and who remains, and what price do you pay for these choices?
Noura by Heather Raffo (USA/Iraq)
Directed by Layla Madanat
Performed by Laila Alj and Tanushka Marah
Eight years ago, Noura and her family fled their home in Iraq. Today, she plans the perfect Christmas dinner to celebrate their new life in New York. But when the arrival of a young refugee stirs up long-buried memories, she and her husband are forced to confront the cost of their choices, and retrace the past they left behind.
The Manual of Little Wars by Chrystèle Khodr (Lebanon)
Translated by Katharine Halls
Directed by Sara Aniqa Malik
Performed by Taghrid Choucair-Vizoso and Stuart Vincent
A woman tries to save her marriage through a storytelling game, retracing ten years of memories with her partner. The two slowly discover that their personal narrative is trapped in the history of the city they love: Beirut. Is separation inevitable, or is reconciliation still possible?
Ordinary People by Zainab Magdy (Egypt)
Translated by Zainab Magdy and Katharine Halls
Directed by Diyan Zora
Performed by Dilek Rose
A woman sits at her desk, working. Her world exists in structures of people, dates, and events. A shift occurs: losing track of an event, the memory of a face, sliding back and forth with her past and forcing her to see her future. What surprising connections can be made in the banality of the everyday?
A Sheep Chase by Amiya Nagpal (UAE)
Directed by Beverly Andrews
Performed by Serafina Salvador
A contemporary take on the experience of being a global citizen, belonging everywhere and nowhere. A woman wanders through foods, visas, passports, diasporas and languages, with access to all the mundane and remarkable that comes with capitalism and globalisation.
The post-performance panel discussion featured curator Taghrid Choucair-Vizoso and academic Dr Nesreen N. Hussein.
globalvoicestheatre.com 