3 Review(s)

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 Food and Fadwa, a Palestinian family living under occupation fights to hold onto their culture and traditions while still celebrating love, joy and hope. A preface by Arab American scholar Michael Malek Najjar and a new essay titled ""Towards an Arab American Theatre Movement"" by Silk Road Rising's artistic director, Jamil Khoury, concludes the book - a valuable expression of Arab American life and theatre in the United States.