{"product_id":"futures-an-anthology-of-contemporary-arab-theater-9798986581491","title":"Futures: An Anthology of Contemporary Arab Theater","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eFutures\u003c\/i\u003e is an anthology of six new plays written in Arabic, published here in English translation. Including five plays selected from over 500 submissions to Masrah Ensemble's 2021 Open Call and one by Masrah Ensemble's former playwright-in-residence, these six texts--by Yasser Abu Shaqra, Wael Kadour, Arzé Khodr, Rim Mejdi, Nasr Sami, and Leila Toubel--represent a diverse array of voices and styles, and push at the limits of theatrical form and public discourse. The volume features an introduction by theater writer\/director\/academic Hanan Kassab Hassan along with short introductions to the plays by US-based playwrights Lucas Baisch, Jess Barbagallo, Jordan Baum, Agnes Borinsky, Nazareth Hassan, and Haruna Lee.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSometimes We Remember\u003c\/i\u003e by Arzé Khodr (Lebanon). Translated by Clem Naylor, with an introduction by Nazareth Hassan.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA Fornesian diamond of a play that unfolds in a series of seemingly simple domestic and urban scenes, about the lure of dwelling in memories of war.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBraveheart by Wael Kadour\u003c\/i\u003e (Syria). Translated by Clem Naylor, with an introduction by Lucas Baisch.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA play about a group of friends writing a novel together, in which relationships collapse and get rebuilt through the act of writing. How do you move out of a state of war into a time of presumed stability? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eRuby\u003c\/i\u003e by Leila Toubel (Tunisia). Translated by Hisham Ben Khamsa, with an introduction by Haruna Lee.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA rhythmic monologue, lyrical and dark, in which a woman unpacks a life of misogyny and violence as she prepares to meet her daughter for the first time. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eUprooting; Or, the Cat and Dog Pizza Chapters\u003c\/i\u003e by Nasr Sami (Tunisia). Translated by Jonas Elbousty, with an introduction by Jess Barbagallo.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA dizzying trip into a world of violence and distortion, by way of the Biblical Song of Songs. In which cats are nailed to walls, and two lovers seek to become one. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eEternity\u003c\/i\u003e by Rim Mejdi (Morocco). Translated by Caline Nasrallah, with an introduction by Jordan Baum.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA young woman is stuck on a train, and just wants to get off. An allegorical knot of a play that moves between liveness and video, vernacular and formal Arabic, with interludes from Rimbaud's French. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLeft Out Gone Bad\u003c\/i\u003e by Yasser Abu Shaqra (Palestine\/Syria), with an introduction by Agnes Borinsky.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA Syrian family arrives as refugees in Europe, where life does not resemble what they imagined. Over the course of the play, each member of the family finds themselves backed deeper and deeper into a corner, and \"safety\" proves a devil's bargain. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eYasser Abu Shaqra\u003c\/b\u003e is a Palestinian-Syrian playwright, born in Damascus and a graduate of the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts. He designed and implemented several interactive theater projects in Damascus and its suburbs. His plays have been published and performed internationally, and a collection of his poetry was released in Denmark. He currently resides in France. He works as the scientific editor of the Theater Section in the Arabic encyclopedia Arabica.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eLucas Baisch\u003c\/b\u003e is from San Francisco. His plays have been read and developed at the Goodman Theatre, The Playwrights' Center, The Bushwick Starr, The Mercury Store, First Floor Theater, Cutting Ball Theater, Playwrights Horizons, Clubbed Thumb, The Neo-Futurists, Chicago Dramatists, etc. Lucas is a recipient of a Steinberg Playwright Award, the Princess Grace Award in Playwriting, a Jerome Fellowship, the Kennedy Center's KCACTF Latinx Playwriting Award, and the Chesley\/Bumbalo Playwriting Award. His plays have been published by Bloomsbury\/Methuen Drama, Yale's Theater Magazine, and 53rd State Press. Outside of writing for theatre, his artwork has been presented at Elsewhere Museum, the Electronic Literature Organization, gallery no one, and the RISD Museum. He has held residencies through Ars Nova, Page 73, the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, ACRE, Elsewhere Museum, Millay Arts, the Wurlitzer Foundation, the Djerassi Resident Artists Program, the Goodman Theatre's Playwrights Unit, and as a Lambda Literary Playwriting Fellow. MFA: Brown University.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eJess Barbagallo\u003c\/b\u003e is a theater artist and poet based in New York City. He has been staging his writing for many years with his friends, students, and loves: \u003ci\u003eGrey-Eyed Dogs\u003c\/i\u003e; \u003ci\u003eKaren Davis Does the Club\u003c\/i\u003e; \u003ci\u003eEtc.\u003c\/i\u003e; \u003ci\u003eGood Year for Hunters\u003c\/i\u003e; \u003ci\u003eMy Old Man (and Other Stories)\u003c\/i\u003e; \u003ci\u003eBeaches in Winter\u003c\/i\u003e; \u003ci\u003eWeekend at Barry's\/Lesbian Lighthouse\u003c\/i\u003e; \u003ci\u003eLaughing in Los Angeles\u003c\/i\u003e; and \u003ci\u003eCemetery Soup\u003c\/i\u003e. Other directing credits include \u003ci\u003ePony\u003c\/i\u003e (Portland Theater Festival), \u003ci\u003eIt's That Time of the Month\u003c\/i\u003e (Soho Rep, Obie Award - Special Citation), and \u003ci\u003eThe Last Podcast on Earth\u003c\/i\u003e (The Tank). Jess has recently performed in Agnes Borinsky's \u003ci\u003eThe Trees\u003c\/i\u003e, Amanda Horowitz's \u003ci\u003eBad Stars\u003c\/i\u003e, Jerry Lieblich's \u003ci\u003eThe Barbarians\u003c\/i\u003e, and Jordan Baum's \u003ci\u003e21st Century Princess\u003c\/i\u003e. He considers himself a proud member of a community of stage-makers who push against theatrical norms to reflect life in 2025.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eJordan Baum\u003c\/b\u003e writes and makes theater. Most recently, he wrote and directed 21st Century Princess, which was performed at Pageant In NYC in 2025.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eExecutive Director of EnviroFest and President\/Founder of Tunisia Cinema Foundation, \u003cb\u003eHisham Ben Khamsa\u003c\/b\u003e is a cultural activist, specialist in communication and cinema and a veteran of the Tunisian, Arab and African film industry. For many years and until 2019, he was the communication director of the Carthage Film Festival JCC. In 2007, he founded the Tunisian Cinema Pavilion at the Cannes Film Festival on behalf of the Tunisian Ministry of Culture. Hisham is also a translator and subtitler from and into English, French, and Arabic of Tunisian and international films selected and awarded at the biggest festivals in the world, Cannes, Venice, Toronto, the French Césars and the Oscars. He has previously collaborated with Leila Toubel, translating two of her plays.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAgnes Borinsky\u003c\/b\u003e is a writer, performer, and convener of people. Her plays include \u003ci\u003eThe Trees\u003c\/i\u003e; \u003ci\u003eA Song of Songs\u003c\/i\u003e; \u003ci\u003eOf Government\u003c\/i\u003e; \u003ci\u003eDing Dong It's the Ocean\u003c\/i\u003e; \u003ci\u003eBrief Chronicle, Books 6-8\u003c\/i\u003e; and \u003ci\u003eLost Tribe\u003c\/i\u003e. Participatory projects include: Working Group for a New Spirit and Weird Classrooms. With Paul Spera, she is co-custodian of Masrah Ensemble.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eJonas Elbousty\u003c\/b\u003e holds an MPhil and a PhD from Columbia University. He is an academic, writer, and literary critic and translator. He teaches in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at Yale University. He is the author or co-author of nine books, including \u003ci\u003eFaces\u003c\/i\u003e (Georgetown University Press, 2024), \u003ci\u003eReading Mohamed Choukri's Narratives\u003c\/i\u003e (Routledge, 2024), \u003ci\u003eThe Screams of War\u003c\/i\u003e (Seagull Books, 2024), \u003ci\u003eTales of Tangier\u003c\/i\u003e (Yale University Press, 2023), \u003ci\u003eAswat Mu'asira: Short Stories\u003c\/i\u003e (Georgetown University Press, 2023), and \u003ci\u003eVitality and Dynamism: Interstitial Dialogues of Language, Politics, and Religion in Morocco's Literary Tradition\u003c\/i\u003e (Leiden University Press, 2014). He is the book series editor of the \u003ci\u003eCultural Production on the Middle East and North Africa\u003c\/i\u003e, and editor in chief of the \u003ci\u003eJournal on Maghrebi Studies\u003c\/i\u003e. His forthcoming books are \u003ci\u003eZoco Chico\u003c\/i\u003e (Georgetown University), \u003ci\u003eThe Routledge Handbook on Cultural Production in the Middle East and North Africa\u003c\/i\u003e (Routledge), and \u003ci\u003eExploring Contemporary Arabic Novels\u003c\/i\u003e (Routledge).\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSince she earned her PhD in theatre from the Sorbonne-Paris (1982), \u003cb\u003eHanan Kassab Hassan\u003c\/b\u003e has been a tenured professor at the Damascus University in Syria, in addition to several professorships in the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts (HIDA) in Damascus, and in the Saint Joseph University in Beirut (IESAV). She was the General Manager of the Damascus Opera House, the General Secretary of Damascus Arab Capital of Culture 2008, and the Dean of the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts. She was also a member of the \"Conseil Cuturel de l'Union Pour la Méditerranée\" in France, and an external evaluator for cultural projects presented to the IFPC, UNESCO, the Kuwait Prize, and the Doha Drama Writing Award. She was chosen as an individual consultant for the Intangible Cultural Heritage Section of UNESCO (2016). She has directed theatre plays, managed workshops on dramaturgy, and written many research papers in the fields of theater and the arts. She translated from French into Arabic and vice versa several essays, novels and theatrical texts. She is co-author of the \u003ci\u003eDictionary of Terms and Concepts of Drama and Performing Arts\u003c\/i\u003e, which is one of the main references in the field of theatre in the Arab world.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eNazareth Hassan\u003c\/b\u003e is an interdisciplinary artist working in performance, writing, music, video, and photography. Recent performance works include \u003ci\u003eUntitled (1-5)\u003c\/i\u003e at The Shed (text published by 3 Hole Press), \u003ci\u003eVANTABLACK\u003c\/i\u003e at Theatretreffen Stuckemarkt in Berlin, \u003ci\u003eSlow Mania 009\u003c\/i\u003e at Center for Performance Research in Brooklyn, and \u003ci\u003eMemory A\u003c\/i\u003e at Museo Universitario del Arte Contemporaneo in Mexico City. Their first collection of poetry and photography, \u003ci\u003eSlow Mania\u003c\/i\u003e, will be published in 2025 by Futurepoem. They have released 4 singles, available on all platforms. They were the 2022 resident dramaturg at the Royal Court Theatre in London. They are a 2023-25 Jerome Hill artist fellow, and a current resident of the Vineyard Theatre.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWael Kadour\u003c\/b\u003e is a Syrian playwright and director based in France. He wrote and directed the play \u003ci\u003eChapitre Quatre\u003c\/i\u003e, in the official program of the 2025 Avignon Festival. In the same year, he presented \u003ci\u003eBraveheart\u003c\/i\u003e at the Theater an der ruhr in Germany and Choisy-le-Roi in France. He has been the artistic director of the Ma'louba Theater Collective since 2022, where he has produced and participated in several plays, including \u003ci\u003eThe Long Shadow of Alois Brunner\u003c\/i\u003e, directed by Omar Elerian, which opened at the Euroscene Festival in Leipzig in 2023; and \u003ci\u003eUp There\u003c\/i\u003e at the Theater an der ruhr and Theaterhaus Jena in Germany. His plays have been presented in Italy at the Naples Festival, the Kunstfest Weimar in Germany, and Les Vagamondes Mulhouse Festival in France, in addition to Egypt and Lebanon. He has participated as an artistic collaborator and facilitator in several theater labs, workshops, artist residencies, and theater readings in Europe, the United States, the Arab region, Africa, and the United Kingdom.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eArzé Khodr\u003c\/b\u003e was born in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1976 and graduated in Theatre Studies from Saint Joseph University (Beirut) in 1999. She is a playwright and has worked as a writer and content creator for television since 2005. Her first play, \u003ci\u003eThe House\u003c\/i\u003e (2008), was translated from Arabic and published in English and French. It was performed in German at the Zimmertheater in Tübingen, Germany, in 2014. In 2018, \u003ci\u003eThe House\u003c\/i\u003e was staged in Beirut, where Khodr won the award for Best Playwright at the Lebanese National Theatre Festival. In 2023, her play \u003ci\u003eThe Smell of Jasmine\u003c\/i\u003e was selected as the Middle East regional winner of the BBC International Radio Playwriting Competition.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eHaruna Lee\u003c\/b\u003e is a Taiwanese\/Japanese\/American theater maker, screenwriter, educator and community steward. Plays include \u003ci\u003eWar Lesbian\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eMemory Retrograde\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eplural (love)\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eSuicide Forest\u003c\/i\u003e, for which they received an Obie Award for Playwriting and Conception and was on the 2020 Kilroys List. Lee has received the Steinberg Playwright Award, the Ollie New Play Award, FCA Grants to Artists Award, a MacDowell Fellowship, the Map Fund Grant, and is a member of New Dramatists. Their writing has been published by 53rd State Press, \u003ci\u003eTheater\u003c\/i\u003e Magazine, Table Work Press and Almanac, and they've taught playwriting and theater at Brooklyn College, Stanford, NYU, Pace, and York College.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eRim Mejdi\u003c\/b\u003e (b. 1989, Marrakech) is a Moroccan filmmaker, theatre director, and curator. Her work unfolds across cinema, performance, and visual arts, weaving together narratives that explore intimacy, adolescence, and the body in moments of transition. Through these themes, she investigates how personal experiences resonate with collective histories.\u003cbr\u003eHer artistic research extends to the urban and peri-urban landscapes of Marrakech and its surroundings, which she approaches as body-territories marked by rupture and transformation. These spaces become central to her reflections on memory, nature, and the imprint of capitalist hegemony, manifested through tourism, gentrification, and extractivism. Working fluidly between film, photography, and performance, Mejdi develops a practice attentive to both individual and communal experience. Her projects seek to map fragile thresholds--between childhood and adulthood, private and public, body and territory--while engaging with contemporary artistic and cinematic practices in Morocco and beyond.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA Tunisian novelist, poet, visual artist, and researcher, \u003cb\u003eSami Nasr\u003c\/b\u003e won the 2015 Sharjah Novel Award for \u003ci\u003eTales of Jaber the Shepherd\u003c\/i\u003e (Waraq Publishing House, UAE, 2014) and the 2017 Katara Novel Award for \u003ci\u003eThe Human Bird\u003c\/i\u003e (Katara Books, Qatar, 2018). He was shortlisted for the Ghassan Kanafani Novel Award for \u003ci\u003eBarlatras\u003c\/i\u003e (2024) and the Golden Narrative Award for his short story collection \u003ci\u003eThe Assassins\u003c\/i\u003e (2024). He is founder and editor-in-chief of the peer-reviewed quarterly \u003ci\u003eAl-Shair Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e. An internationally accredited narrative trainer and supervisor of the \"Workshop\" short story project, he has published nine books of poetry, five novels, one play, three books of criticism, and two poems in two multilingual anthologies. His research and creative writing focus on oral narratives, exploring their potential and energy within his fictional worlds.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eCaline Nasrallah\u003c\/b\u003e is a literary translator, editor, and researcher based between Montreal and Beirut. Her extensive editing and translation work spans fiction and non-fiction. She has been published with Syracuse University Press, Wasafiri, Interlink Publishing, and more.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eClem Naylor\u003c\/b\u003e studied Arabic at Oxford University and at Damascus University. He started translating plays for the Royal Court Theatre in London in 2008 and has continued to translate Arabic plays on and off since then, including the works of Mohammad Al Attar, Dalia Taha, and Arzé Khodr. Alongside his translation work, Clem's work as a British diplomat has taken him to Cairo, Bamako and Berlin.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eLeila Toubel\u003c\/b\u003e is a self-taught Tunisian actress, playwright, director, and activist, recognized as one of the leading figures of Tunisian theatre. Born in 1962 in Hammam-Lif, she worked for twenty-five years alongside Ezzeddine Gannoun, notably as Artistic Director of El Hamra Theater. In 2014, she founded Resist'Art and later launched Dreams Chebeb, a support program for young creators in Tunisia. Her acclaimed trilogy--\u003ci\u003eSolwen\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eHourya\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eYakouta\u003c\/i\u003e--as well as her latest play \u003ci\u003eAd Vitam\u003c\/i\u003e (2025) blend poetic imagery with social engagement, exploring memory, life and death, human fragility, and freedom. Known for her uncompromising stance against obscurantism and violence, particularly towards women, she embraces a profound connection with the Tunisian dialect, expressed through a raw, deeply emotional writing style. She has performed on stages around the world, from Tokyo to Montreal. For Toubel, theatre remains \"the greatest and shortest love story between an actress and a spectator--divine, ephemeral, and eternal.\"\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"53rd State Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52127751536914,"sku":"9798986581491","price":24.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_178b6e73-2a75-468f-b901-e864c64aec77.jpg?v=1773746740","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/futures-an-anthology-of-contemporary-arab-theater-9798986581491","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}