Golden Thread Production's 2018 Season Promotes Dialogue

Golden Thread Productions, the first American theatre company devoted to the Middle East, presents a season that fosters real conversations about issues that matter. The 2018 mainstage season begins with the return of the West Coast premiere of Amir Nizar Zuabi's Oh My Sweet Land in an extended tour of Bay Area kitchens (March 1-30, 2018). Inspired by interviews with Syrian refugees, the production, which was called "extraordinary" by the San Francisco Chronicle, is directed by Torange Yeghiazarian and features Nora el Samahy. Each performance will be followed by food sharing and a community conversation. The second show of the 2018 season is the critically-acclaimed production of Hassan Abdulrazzak's Love, Bombs, and Apples, which will make its U.S. debut after two sold-out runs in London (April 19-May 6, 2018).

The tour-de-force solo show features Asif Khan, who brings to life four men of Middle Eastern descent, each from different parts of the globe, all experiencing a moment of revelation. Directed by Rosemunde Hutt and presented in association with Turtle Key Arts, the comedy was heralded as a "quartet of monologues with a profound ability to find bubbling humor in the most over-trodden tragedies" by The Stage. The mainstage season culminates in the world premiere of award-winning playwright Mona Mansour's We Swim, We Talk, We Go to War, directed by Evren Odcikin (November 16-December 16, 2018). A Middle East America National New Plays Initiative commission, the play is a literal conversation between an American woman of Arab descent and her nephew, who has enlisted in the American military. Structurally adventurous with a third of the play taking place in the Pacific Ocean, We Swim welcomes Mansour for her fourth and most ambitious production with Golden Thread. Love, Bombs, and Apples and We Swim, We Talk, We Go to War will both be presented at San Francisco's Potrero Stage (1695 18th Street), where Golden Thread is a resident company. The 3 Show Pass ($87) offers the best value and priority access to our 2018 Season. Each pass includes one ticket to each of the three mainstage productions at a 20% discount: goldenthread.org.

Additional presentations in 2018 include Golden Thread's annual celebration of International Women's Day. What Do the Women Say?: Dismantling Patriarchy returns to San Francisco's Brava Theater Center (2781 24th Street) on March 8, 2018, and showcases the work of leading Middle Eastern female artists that are working to expose and eradicate toxic masculinity at home, at work, and on the national stage. Also at Brava is audience-favorite New Threads 2018 (June, 2018), Golden Thread's annual staged reading series, which introduces four new plays from or about the Middle East to Bay Area audiences. Also as part of its 2018 Season, Golden Thread is partnering with Shotgun Players on their production of Guillermo Calderón's Kiss, which is directed by Golden Thread's own Evren Odcikin and featuring Golden Thread regulars Roneet Aliza Rahamim and Wiley Naman Strasser (August 23-September 23, 2018). Find out more about Golden Thread and its 2018 Season at goldenthread.org/2018-Season.

"As the political leadership and the media fail at modeling meaningful discussion, theatre becomes the space where crucial conversations take place." said Artistic Director Torange Yeghiazarian, who founded Golden Thread in 1996. "This year's programming is provocative, inspiring, and presented in intimate spaces to facilitate brave and open conversations about deeply held values and the character of our nation."

Golden Thread Productions is the first American theatre company devoted to the Middle East and its global diaspora. For 20 years, Golden Thread has produced plays and events that represent excellence, defy stereotypes, and celebrate the multiplicity of perspectives and identities from the Middle East. The company has become an essential hub for artistic activism, supports challenging conversations, and champions representation and inclusion locally and nationally. In 22 years, Golden Thread has premiered more than 100 new plays from or about the Middle East, including seven original plays for young audiences based on Middle Eastern folktales, and has employed more than 1,000 artists, many from underrepresented communities. Golden Thread has served nearly 50,000 audience members, with more than 40% self-identifying as Middle Eastern. Golden Thread has been recognized in twice by American Theatre Wing, the producers of the Tony Awards, by the City of San Francisco in honor of our 20th anniversary, and was featured in the ABC 7 Bay Area's Profiles of Excellence. Artistic Director Torange Yeghiazarian has been recognized by Theatre Bay Area and is one of Theatre Communication Group's Legacy Leaders of Color. She was honored by the Cairo International Theatre Festival (2016) and the Symposium on Equity in the Entertainment Industry at Stanford University (2017).

GOLDEN THREAD PRODUCTIONS
2018 SEASON

West Coast Premiere | March 1-30, 2018 | Touring Bay Area kitchens

Oh My Sweet Land

by Amir Nizar Zuabi
directed by Torange Yeghiazarian, featuring Nora el Samahy

The critically-acclaimed production returns for an extended run!

A woman of mixed Syrian-German parentage recalls her encounter with Ashraf, a Syrian man in Paris, all the while preparing kibbeh, a Syrian delicacy. One part detective story, one part a woman's reckoning with her heritage, this tour-de-force solo show was inspired by interviews with Syrian refugees and complicates our understanding of the conflict in Syria and highlights the resilience of the Syrian people. Each performance, performed at private and community kitchens around the Bay Area, will be followed by food sharing and community conversation.

"Extraordinary . . . el Samahy's storytelling is as riveting as her cooking." -San Francisco Chronicle

U.S. Premiere | April 19-May 6, 2018 | Potrero Stage

Love, Bombs, and Apples

by Hassan Abdulrazzak
directed by Rosemunde Hutt
featuring Asif Khan
presented in association with Turtle Key Arts

The acclaimed production makes its U.S. debut after two sold-out runs in London!

A Palestinian actor learns there's more to English girls than pure sex appeal. A Pakistani-born terror suspect figures out what's wrong with his first novel. A British youth suspects all is not what it seems with his object of desire. A New Yorker asks his girlfriend for a sexual favor at the worst possible time. Love, Bombs & Apples is the comic tale of four men, each from different parts of the globe, all experiencing a moment of revelation.

"Quartet of monologues with a profound ability to find bubbling humor in the most over-trodden tragedies" -The Stage

World Premiere | November 16-December 16, 2018 | Potrero Stage

We Swim, We Talk, We Go to War

by Mona Mansour
directed by Evren Odcikin
A Middle East America: National New Plays Initiative commission

What happens when you fundamentally disagree with someone you love?

While trying to navigate the currents of the Pacific, a woman of Arab descent and her nephew, who has enlisted in the military, dip into the treacherous waters of identity, family, and allegiance. Structurally adventurous and playful, We Swim, We Talk, We Go to War takes the form of a literal conversation on stage, and expands into a nuanced dialogue about what it means to be American, Arab, and Arab-American at our current moment in time.

"What distinguishes Mansour's work is its compassion for the thorny nature of family, identity, and politics." -American Theatre Magazine

March 8 | Brava Theater Center

What Do the Women Say? 2018: Dismantling Patriarchy

Our annual celebration of International Women's Day

Dismantling Patriarchy showcases the work of leading Middle Eastern women artists working to expose and eradicate toxic masculinity at home, at work, and on the national stage: Iraqi-American visual artist and scholar Dena Al-Aadeeb, Yemeni-American visual artist Yasmine Diaz, Lebanese-American singer Naima Shalhoub, and Iranian author Farnoosh Moshiri. The event will be include a conversation with the artists and the audience. Reem's Bakery will sell food in the lobby before the event.
"Beautiful, powerful, and informative... I feel very empowered as a woman and a Muslim after attending this event." -What Do the Women Say? 2014 Audience member

June, 2018 | Brava Theater Center

New Threads 2018 Staged Reading Series

Four new plays. Four singular voices.

Golden Thread's popular staged reading series returns, introducing four new plays to the Bay Area. We invite you to laugh, cry, and think alongside these beautiful stories from and about the Middle East! Each play is teeming with unexpected humor, surprising characters, and important questions about the world we live in today. Join the creative process of a new play and discover brilliant gems never before seen in the Bay Area.
"Terrific acting and engaging writing... I loved witnessing the great cast and direction of an in-development play. " -New Threads 2016 Audience member

August 23-September 23, 2018 | Ashby Stage

Kiss

by Guillermo Calderón
directed by Evren Odcikin
A Shotgun Players production in association with Golden Thread Productions

A mind-bending political thriller dressed up as a love story

A group of actors discover a script set in Damascus. They eagerly begin performing what appears to be a romantic melodrama, believing they will learn something about what it's like to live in Syria. Then everything explodes. With subtly shifting perspectives, Kiss compels us to continually question our grip on reality.

"There's a freshness and forcefulness to Calderón's work, which marries the urgency of politics to the playful joy of theatremaking." -American Theatre Magazine

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