Mohammed Attar; Laila Soliman; Imad Farajin; Arzé Khodr; Kamal Khalladi: New Arab playwrights

On April 29 and 30, 2010, the British Council/Royal Court Theatre Project came together with a handful of major American theatre institutions to host a conference with five Arab playwrights. The PEN World Voices Festival: I Come From There: New Plays from the Arab World conference was the culmination of a remarkable 18-month international theatre project that took place in five different countries. Beginning in England where a number of the playwrights presented their work as staged readings at the Royal Court Theatre, they subsequently presented staged readings of their work that reflects contemporary life in the Middle East in Damascus, Cairo, and Tunis. The playwrights include Mohammad Attar from Syria presenting his piece "Withdrawal"; Imad Farajin from Palestine and his play "603", which has continued to tour at various theatres in the West Bank, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi; Kamal Khalladi  from Morocco, who wrote "Damage"; Arzé Khodr from Lebanon who developed "The House", her first full-length play; and Laila Soliman from Egypt, who presented her piece entitled "Egyptian Products". The conference in New York took place at the Martin E. Segal Theater Center, City University of New York, and was a combinations of readings and panels that reflected these artists' remarkable journey. —Tara Marie Good

Read playwrights' bios here.