Kunafa and Shay

By Marina J. Bergenstock, HowlRound Theatre Commons, Nabra Nelson

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Description

Kunafa and Shay focuses on Middle Eastern and North African (MENA)/Southwest Asian and North African (SWANA) theatre—highlighting classic and contemporary plays and theatremakers, spotlighting community-engaged work in the region and diaspora, and analyzing the past, present, and future of MENA/SWANA theatre in the United States. Theatre artists and scholars Nabra Nelson and Marina Johnson bring their own perspectives, research, and special guests in order to start a dialogue and encourage further learning and discussion. The name, Kunafa and Shay, invites you into the discussion in the best way we know how: with complex and delicious sweets like kunafa, and perfectly warm tea (or, in Arabic, shay). Kunafa and Shay is a place to share experiences, discuss ideas, and sometimes engage with our differences.

Episode Date
New Threads, New Forms: MENA/SWANA Dramaturgy and Development
May 07, 2026
Reclaiming the Narrative: The MENA Theatre Artists’ Bill of Rights
Apr 30, 2026
Golden Thread’s Current Decade
Apr 16, 2026
Golden Thread’s Second Decade
Apr 09, 2026
Golden Thread's First Decade
Apr 02, 2026
Thirty Years of MENA Theatre
Mar 26, 2026
How Many SWANA Performance Artists Can We Talk About in One Episode?
Dec 17, 2024
Experimental Film with Basma al-Sharif
Dec 10, 2024
Narrative Podcasts with Laila Abdo
Dec 03, 2024
Site-Specific Performance Art with Riham Isaac
Nov 26, 2024
Arab Experimentalism and Futurism with Leyya Mona Tawil
Nov 19, 2024
Poetry Performance with George Abraham and Fargo Tbakhi
Nov 12, 2024
Palestinian Drag in the Diaspora with Mama Ganuush
Nov 04, 2024
Feminist Performance Art with Rima Najdi
Oct 29, 2024
Performance Art on Video with Khansa
Oct 22, 2024
Installation and Audience Collaboration with Tania El Khoury
Oct 15, 2024
Rant and Rave: Middle Eastern, North African, and Southwest Asian Classics and Theatre History
Aug 13, 2024
Resistant Ventriloquism and Postcolonial Courtesy
Aug 06, 2024
Iraqi Theatre History
Jul 30, 2024
Palestinian Storytelling
Jul 23, 2024
Nubian Theatre
Jul 09, 2024
Ibn Daniyal and Puppetry
Jul 02, 2024
Ottoman Theatre
Jun 25, 2024
People of the Cave
Jun 18, 2024
Majnun Layla
Jun 11, 2024
The Triumph of Horus
Jun 04, 2024
Theatre in Palestine
Jan 31, 2024
Queer Dramaturgies in Turkish Theatre
Jan 24, 2024
Producing Queer MENA Theatre on the American Stage
Jan 17, 2024
Femme MENA Representation in Lebanon and the United States
Jan 10, 2024
Affinity Spaces for MENA/SWANA and LGBTQIA+ Artists
Dec 13, 2023
Home and Exile in Queer MENA Theatremaking
Dec 06, 2023
Queering Film
Nov 22, 2023
Art, Activism, and Connecting to the Past
Nov 08, 2023
Art as Politics
Oct 25, 2023
Breaking Out of Queer Boxes with Bazeed and Pooya Mohseni
Oct 11, 2023
Queer Representation in the United States with Adam Ashraf Elsayigh
Sep 27, 2023
Buffer Fringe Performing Arts Festival with Raffi Feghali
Oct 04, 2022
Season Debrief and what’s next for Kunafa and Shay
Jun 08, 2022
Balancing Comedy and Drama as a MENA Playwright with Yussef El-Guindi & Leila Buck
Jun 01, 2022
Multihyphenate Artists with Denmo Ibrahim and Sarah Fahmy
May 26, 2022
Creating the Change: Featuring Masrah Cleveland Al-Arabi with Raymond Bobgan and Omar Kurdi
May 18, 2022
Iranian Theatre Companies with Parmida Ziaei (Seda Seattle) & Shadi Ghaheri (Peydah NYC)
May 11, 2022
Centering Perspectives of Color in Theatre Criticism with Arti Ishak and Yasmin Zacaria Mikhaiel
May 04, 2022
Community Engagement Through Art and Programs With Pirronne Yousefzadeh & Lia Fakhouri
Apr 27, 2022
Site-Specific and Devised Theatre in Lebanon with Sahar Assaf & Zeina Daccache
Apr 20, 2022
Theatre as Advocacy/Palestinian Theatre with Ahmed Mansour & Hanna Eady
Apr 13, 2022
Representation Behind the Scenes with Betty Shamieh and Tracy Francis
Apr 06, 2022
Afghan Art and Advocacy With Yousof Sultani
Sep 20, 2021
The MENA Theatre Movement Today
Jun 02, 2021
Culinary Diplomacy
May 26, 2021
Forum Theatre in Palestine
May 19, 2021
Complicating Notions of Womanhood
May 12, 2021
Egyptian Theatre with Mohab Saber
May 05, 2021
Drama on Video with Andrea Assaf
Apr 28, 2021
The Power of Verbatim Theatre with Jen Marlowe
Apr 21, 2021
Drama Therapy: The Work of Zeina Daccache
Apr 14, 2021
Representation 101: Trends of Contemporary MENA Theatre in the U.S.
Apr 07, 2021
Meet the Hosts
Mar 31, 2021