San Francisco, November 19 – December 13
For four weeks, this one of a kind festival turns San Francisco into a Mecca for innovative, spirited, and thought-provoking theatre from around the world. Providing a rare opportunity for artists and audiences alike to engage deeply and directly with the Middle East in a creative and supportive setting that displaces misinformation and encourages understanding.
Golden Thread Productions’ hallmark event is ReOrient, a festival of plays exploring the Middle East. Debuted in 1999, more than thirty plays have been presented at the ReOrient festival, majority of them world and or U.S. premieres.
Series 1 – Thursdays & Saturdays at 8:00 PM
World Premiere
Series 1: No Such Cold Thing by Naomi Wallace (2009)
An American soldier has an unexpected encounter with two afghan sisters who are ready to embark on a new life. Their fate – and his – get more complicated as the line between their different realities becomes dangerously blurred.
Nora el Samahy and Basel Al-Naffouri in No Such Cold Thing by Naomi Wallace. Photo by Gohar Barseghyan.
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Series 1: Tamam by Betty Shamieh (2002)
From one of the most highly praised Arab-American playwrights comes this story of a young Palestinian woman: Her name is Tamam; it means enough!
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Series 1: Coming Home by Motti Lerner (2003)
A compassionate inquiry into the fragility of the human spirit by one of Israel’s most vocal voices against the occupation.
Charles Isen, Raffi Wartanian and Leah Herman in Coming Home by Motti Lerner. Photo by Gohar Barseghyan.
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Series 1: Call Me Mehdi by Torange Yeghiazarian (2005)
A cultural divide erupts in this bedroom comedy between an Iranian woman and her American husband.
Ahou Tabibzadeh and George Psarras in Call Me Mehdi by Torange Yeghiazarian. Photo by Gohar Barseghyan.
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Series 2 – Fridays at 8:00 PM & Sundays at 5:00 PM
Series 2: I’m Not a Serial Killer by Caveh Zahedi (1999)
From the independent filmmaker responsible for I Am a Sex Addict and I don’t Hate Las Vegas Anymore, comes a kooky comedy about a lovable loser’s futile attempts at picking up the woman of his dreams.
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Series 2: Abaga by Torange Yeghiazarian (2001)
A lyrical tale of forbidden love between an Armenian man and a Turkish woman in Istanbul of 1915 repeats itself in Jerusalem of 1935 when their offspring falls for a Jewish immigrant.
Raffi Wartanian and Vida Ghahremani in Abaga by Torange Yeghiazarian. Photo by Gohar Barseghyan.
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Series 2: A Marriage Proposal by Yussef El Guindi (2001)
Chekov’s classic comedy of class conflict and lemons adapted to an Egyptian family setting.
Dina Mousawi, Michael Sommers and Afif Houssain in A Marriage Proposal by Yussef El Guindi. Photo by Gohar Barseghyan
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Series 2: Compression of a Casualty by Kevin Doyle (2004)
Two CNN anchors find themselves stuck in the news report of an American soldier’s death in Iraq. They can neither tell the deeper tale, nor move on.
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Series 2: The Monologist Suffers Her Monologue by Yussef El Guindi (2007)
A Palestinian-American explores her identity in this poignant and comedic monologue. In the dialogue of nations, do you ever get the feeling that Palestine is just a monologue?
Sara Razavi expresses herself in The Monologist Suffers Her Monologue by Yussef El Guindi. Photo by Gohar Barseghyan.
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General Admission – $25 at the door, $20 in advance
Students, Seniors and TBA members – $15 at the door, $12 in advance
Festival Pass (includes admission to Both Series) – $35 in advance
All productions at the Thick House (unless noted)
1695 18th Street
between Carolina and Arkansas Streets on Potrero Hill in San Francisco
http://www.goldenthread.org
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