Screen Shot 2021-03-31 at 2.06.29 PM.png — By Dalia Taha | Directed by Adam M. Kassim

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In the aftermath of murder, a man and woman attempt to connect inside the finite time of a viral video, a digital resurrection, and a playwright’s mind. A story about video, time, and the ghosts we can’t let go.

Craving Mangoes

A mother and father avoid confirming the identity of young, unidentified body, doing their best to narrate a version of events in which he is still alive.

The Camera Doesn't Love Anyone

Two women tell a story about the way a third woman tells the story of her murdered husband. An exploration of the ways Palestinians are forced to talk about trauma, and the performances they necessitate.

Business

A tourist in Palestine attempts to buy a keffiyeh, but finds the process more difficult - and infinitely more complicated - than she expects. At play are social expectations, (mis)communication, and the messy reality beneath stereotypical images.

The Unhappy Writer

Two sisters argue over colored contact lenses, student discounts, and which one of them is really a writer. They exchange jabs to mask insecurities surrounding identity and creation. Who, of the two, gets to be a “real” artist?

Crowdedness

A newly married couple waits in line at a checkpoint. She’s trying to reach him; he’s not listening. A story about the checkpoints that extend beyond the fence, and the little rebellions it takes to bring them down.

Redecoration

A couple discuss their house, the neighbor’s house, and sons. A story about building a home in the face of sacrifice and loss.

About

Ramallah-based, Palestinian playwright DaliaTaha's utterly distinct slices of Palestinian life are at times unsettling, heartbreaking, and humorous - as parents, lovers, sisters and friends cope with a decades-long occupation. These exquisite short plays explore how the most intimate of relationships are infiltrated by colonization and displacement.

A review of 20 years of programming from The Voices of a Changing Middle East Festival (about 75 projects in all) revealed that only one project was written by a Palestinian – a staged reading entitled In Spitting Distance by Taher Najib. In an effort to provide some balance, Mosaic's artistic team began discussions around using a virtual platform to highlight a play by a Palestinian writer appropriate for online presentation. The virtual presentation of Keffiyeh: Made In China, was the result of that commitment.

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press and reviews

“Mosaic Theater has gifted us just that — a mosaic of short and trenchant pinhole theatrical views into the everyday tensions, fears, and losses experienced by the Palestinian people. [It] reminds us that we don’t have to sacrifice connectedness and artistic excellence even in these challenging times.”

DC Metro Theater Arts

“Mosaic director reconnects with his ‘Palestinian side’ in new show.”

Washington Blade

“Dina Soltan offers a stellar performance, her face a perfect roadmap of roiling emotions.”

DC Metro Theater Arts

“Director Adam M. Kassim and production designer Mona Kasra have effectively used the web to deliver intense experiences.

DC Metro Theater Arts

Constellations

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We invited Palestinian artists, writers, and thinkers to contribute pieces which are in conversation with Taha’s play. Some pieces directly respond to the episodes; some merely take them as a point of departure. All are thoughtful and beautiful articulations of Palestinian art-making, thought, and expression.

Our hope is that this series can expand on and strengthen Mosaic’s commitment to Palestinian culture-workers, creating a constellation of artistic expression which mirrors and honors the loose, non-linear structure of the play.

Ahlan wa sahlan—welcome.

Read Constellations