Golden Thread’s new play reading series returns, introducing four brand new plays from and about the Middle East. Each staged reading is followed by an audience talkback. Join us to support the work of Middle Eastern writers, take part in the creative process of a new play, and to discover brilliant gems before they receive full productions.
A Moment of Silence
By Mohammad Yaghoubi Translated and directed by Torange Yeghiazarian
May 16, 2012 at 7:00 pm Joe Goode Annex, 499 Alabama St. #150 (between 17th and Mariposa)
Hailed by many as one of the best Iranian plays written after the 1979 revolution, A Moment of Silence investigates the impact of the revolution through the imagination of a writer who falls victim to the Chain Murders of intellectuals and artists in the 1990s. Widely acknowledged for his layered and imaginative approach to realism, Yaghoubi is an outspoken artist who continues to challenge the governmental systems of control.
Another Man’s Son
By Silva Semerciyan Directed by Rebecca Novick
July 18, 2012 at 7:00 pm Joe Goode Annex, 499 Alabama St. #150 (between 17th and Mariposa)
Winner of the prestigious William Saroyan Prize, this deeply moving play follows Lucine, an ambitious young nurse trying to build a career and a life against the expectations of her traditional Armenian family in 1950s Beirut. When she makes a life-altering mistake in love, she must make a dangerous choice between her hard-earned future and the role her tyrannical father envisions.
The Hour of Feeling
By Mona Mansour Directed by Evren Odcikin
October 1, 2012 at 7:00 pm Z Space, 450 Florida St.
In 1967, as political forces redefine the Middle Eastern borders, English Romantic poetry scholar Adham travels to London from his native Palestine to deliver a career-defining lecture with his new wife, Abir. As the pull of family and home weighs heavily on him, can he take this chance to get out? Fresh out of this year’s prestigious Humana Festival of New Plays, this beautiful play paints a moving picture of love and marriage against a backdrop of political turmoil and hardship.
The Mummy and the Revolution
By Yussef El Guindi
November 17, 2012 at 2:30 pm Z Space, 450 Florida St.
An Egyptian revolutionary, an American collector, and a reanimated mummy—just three of the characters in this comedic gem from the writer that brought Golden Thread audiences Language Rooms, Jihad Jones and the Kalashnikov Babes, and Back of the Throat. Golden Thread mainstay Yussef El Guindi’s unique voice has been nationally recognized with the 2011 Middle East America Award and the 2012 Harold and Mimi Steinberg/American Theatre Critics Circle New Play Award.
