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A prolific playwright in the US, Egyptian-American playwright Yussef El Guindi explores, through his dramatic work, the immigrant experience. Addressing the personal, political and social encounters of those trying to adapt to new western countries and cultures, his plays are conceived and shaped with intelligence, sensibility and humour. This collection brings together works that span his career, from his first major play, Back of the Throat, to his boldly topical Threesome, throughout which he delves into the complex issues commonly felt by Arab immigrants in the US: Arabophobia, Islamophobia, media orientalism and bi-cultural issues. The plays featured in the anthology are: Back of the Th...
It is Stafford's mission to suspend you in a constant state of uncertainty: He unwinds a skein of conversations in which everything you are told has to be taken on trust, yet none of the characters is entirely to be trusted...each scene subtly erodes the a Sex, drugs and chamber music! OPUS considers the matter of music making with an intimate, appraising eye, showing us the sweat, the drudgery and the delicate balance of personalities that lie behind the creation of a seemingly effortless performance. An
Leila and Rashid, Egyptian Americans, attempt to solve their relationship issues by inviting a relative stranger into their bedroom to engage in a threesome. What begins as a hilariously awkward evening soon becomes an experience fraught with secrets, raising issues of sexism, possession, and independence. "Mr El Guindi's dialogue snaps and sparkles... Infectious laughter ripples throughout." The New York Times "Seamlessly melds sexual and political themes until you realize they're one in the same... A fascinating and unforgettable comedy." TheaterMania "Whether you see Yussef El Guindi's THREESOME as a sex play, a feminist play, an Arab-themed play, a geopolitical play, or just a play with genital-gazing opportunity, see it...not because it's funny (though it certainly is), but because it's interesting." Seattle Weekly "A clever comedy of sexual manners encasing a provocative and explosive drama." The Seattle Times "Playwright El Guindi has built an elaborate, intellectual, and dense treatise, where sex, international politics, and feminism intersect... Make no mistake; this show is worthy of your time and attention." The Portland Mercury
"What if Neil Simon wrote a lovable comedy about a Muslim-American family trying to hold itself together amidst the misunderstandings that run amuck and the comedy that ensues when the generations collide? It would probably resemble something like the surprisingly enjoyable, charming and oftentimes hilarious TEN ACROBATS IN AN AMAZING LEAP OF FAITH." Fabrizio O Almeida, New City Chicago "With TEN ACROBATS IN AN AMAZING LEAP OF FAITH, playwright Yussef El Guindi takes the genre (of the immigrant experience) to a new place--the Arab-American experience post September 11, 2001. With humor, passion and a lovely touch of whimsy, he's created a theatrical experience that's not to be missed." Louis...
Anyone who has ever looked for love know the dilemma. Do you make a safe, sensible match? Or take a risk on an exciting someone who might—just might—be the One Great Romance of your life? Musa, an Egyptian immigrant, and Sheri, a very quirky Caucasian waitress, must negotiate the twists and turns of not only love but cultural expectations in this charming romantic comedy with a delightful twist.
Ashraf is an actor who has just received rave reviews for his performance of Hamlet at a struggling theatre in Los Angeles. But he's only earning $200 a week and he's having trouble paying the bills. He needs his big break. And that's just what his smarmy agent is offering: a starring role in a Hollywood blockbuster. Big money, working for his favorite director, and playing opposite his favorite Tinsel Town starlet—All Ashraf has to do is play the most stereotypically evil, fanatical Islamic terrorist ever to grace the silver screen. JIHAD JONES follows Ashraf as he battles the infamous slippery slope, while hilariously balancing his personal ethics and cultural pride against his professional ambition.
"The Talented Ones looks at the thwarted dreams of immigrants eager to make it in their adopted country. As converts to the American Dream, how much more challenging and lethal do the notions of success and failure become? Omar is falling down in his attempts to make a success of his life, while his wife, Cindy, a fellow immigrant, appears to be doing much better, and is becoming increasingly frustrated by Omar's struggles. His American best friend, Patrick, may be Cindy's way out. Mixing realism with memory and dance, The Talented Ones dissects with increasing ferocity this couple's marriage and aspirations."--Publisher's website.
The first edition of Dinarzad’s Children was a groundbreaking and popular anthology that brought to light the growing body of short fiction being written by Arab Americans. This expanded edition includes sixteen new stories —thirty in all—and new voices and is now organized into sections that invite readers to enter the stories from a variety of directions. Here are stories that reveal the initial adjustments of immigrants, the challenges of forming relationships, the political nuances of being Arab American, the vision directed towards homeland, and the ongoing search for balance and identity. The contributors are D. H. Melhem, Mohja Khaf, Rabih Alameddine, Rawi Hage, Laila Halaby, Patricia Sarrafian Ward, Alia Yunis, Diana Abu Jaber, Susan Muaddi Darraj, Samia Serageldin, Alia Yunis, Joseph Geha, May Monsoor Munn, Frances Khirallah Nobel, Nabeel Abraham, Yussef El Guindi, Hedy Habra, Randa Jarrar, Zahie El Kouri, Amal Masri, Sahar Mustafah, Evelyn Shakir, David Williams, Pauline Kaldas, and Khaled Mattawa.
Four Arab American Plays is the first published collection of plays by contemporary Arab American playwrights. Based on true stories from her life as the daughter of a Lebanese mother and American diplomat father, Leila Buck's ISite invites the audience on an intimate journey in search of identity, home, and the space in between. Jamil Khoury's drama Precious Stones boldly examines the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the "safe" yet turbulent terrain of the American Diaspora. Yussef El Guindi's Our Enemies: Lively Scenes of Love and Combat is a darkly humorous and sensual look at identity, media-representation, love and lust in the Arab American community. In Lameece Issaq and Jacob Kader's F...
The collected essays from noteworthy dramatists and scholars in this book represent new ways of understanding theater in the Middle East not as geographical but transcultural spaces of performance. What distinguishes this book from previous works is that it offers new analysis on a range of theatrical practices across a region, by and large, ignored for the history of its dramatic traditions and cultures, and it does so by emphasizing diverse performances in changing contexts. Topics include Arab, Iranian, Israeli, diasporic theatres from pedagogical perspectives to reinvention of traditions, from translation practices to political resistance expressed in various performances from the nineteenth century to the present.