Although many theatres have closed in the wake of the COVID disaster, the San Francisco Bay Area theatre community is fortunate to have a number of companies that can be considered true “art theatres” (as opposed to primarily commercial enterprises). Our mainstream companies (e.g., A.C.T., Berkeley Repertory, Marin Theatre Company, and TheatreWorks—to name only a few) consistently produce high-quality, challenging theatre, but are understandably less inclined to pursue work that is experimental or unusually challenging politically and/or artistically. In recent years, we have lost a few of our edgier companies including Central Works, Aurora Theatre, Theatre First, and the greatly missed Cutting Ball Theatre.
But “art theatres” are ever persistent, and in some of the less familiar pockets of theatre in the Bay Area they continue to challenge us. Among the current group, we might include Oakland Theatre Project as well as the Marin Shakespeare Company, which is under the astonishing artistic direction of Jon Levy. (The list could and probably should be much longer; I mention only a few.)
Unusual among this group is Golden Thread Productions, a 30-year-old company and the first in the United States to focus exclusively on work from a MENA (Middle Eastern and North African) perspective. Even rarer than their impressive longevity is the consistent artistic excellence of its work. This company has twice been recognized with grants from the American Theatre Wing (producers of the Tony Awards and the Obie Awards), and also by the City of San Francisco in honor of their 20th anniversary in 2016. It would not be surprising if it were to one day receive a Tony award for regional excellence.
With “ReOrient 2026: Festival of Short Plays,” they are presenting an evening of relevant political theatre that is thoughtful, challenging, emotionally vibrant, well-acted and well-directed. The plays are not polemical, but rather demonstrate the company’s belief that “immersing yourself in someone else’s experience is the best way to appreciate their point of view.”
The characters include Palestinians, Israeli Arabs, Israeli Jews, Iranians, and, surprisingly, a group of activist anti-apartheid grocery store clerks in Dublin, circa 1984.
These plays are notable for their lack of stridency, their emotional authenticity, and for each of the playwrights’ willingness to take on difficult subjects such as Israel’s actions in Gaza and its impact on the lives of Middle Easterners, as well as historical echoes of current controversies such as the racist apartheid regime in South Africa. The five plays, all of them stirring and well-constructed, focus on human beings surviving difficult circumstances, rather than pointing fingers and taking sides. The only side taken here is the side of the human heart, trying to live well and thrive no matter the odds.
The acting is unabashedly emotional, heated, and often presentational, as is appropriate for theatre that is rooted in a political tradition. The excellent direction makes use of a variety of the techniques associated with the famous “alienation effect” first identified and demonstrated by Bertolt Brecht nearly a century ago. Brecht, whose focus was political theatre, wanted his audiences to respond not just with emotional empathy for the characters portrayed, but with an intellectual understanding of their positions in society. To accomplish this, he would undermine some of the emotional impact of his plays with unemotional commentary such as banners that displayed political commentary, unexpected bursts of song (often performed in a manner less than beautiful, to encourage the audiences to listen more carefully to the words), or breaking of the fourth wall.
For example, directors of “ReOrient” have utilized “APPLAUSE” signs at the end of some sequences, forcing the audience to recall that we are in a theatre and viewing something worthy of analysis and not merely enjoyment and emotional stimulation. At one point, during a monologue by a character living in Gaza and attempting to find a sex partner using “Tinder,” a sign flashes “LAUGH” at the audience who might otherwise be too shaken by the shock value to respond to the humor.
Perhaps the best alienation effect is seen in Hannah Khalil’s “Blood Fruit,” which tells the story of workers in a Dublin supermarket who, in 1984, organized a strike and a boycott to force their employers to stop importing and selling fruit from South Africa during the height of the anti-apartheid movement. The inclusion of a play set more than 40 years ago in Dublin is a brilliant stroke of alienation. And yet, the themes echo the experience of Middle Easterners and North Africans today. The piece is presented with tightly choreographed movements that are not realistic but symbolic and that culminate in a recreation of one of the most famous moments in the history of political theatre in America. I won’t offer any explicit spoiler here, but fans of Clifford Odets will recognize the reference.
“ReOrient 2026” is an exceptional evening of political theatre: intellectually exciting, emotionally exhausting, artistically satisfying.
“ReOrient 2026: Festival of Short Plays” closes this weekend, with performances on 10/31/2026 and a matinee 11/01/2026. For further information, click here.
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Rating: **** (For an explanation of TheatreStorm’s rating system, click here.)
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“ReOrient 2026: Festival of Short Plays.” Scenic Designer: Kate Boyd. Lighting & Video Designer: Maxwell Bowman. Costume Designer: Buffy. Technical Director: Tyler Miller. Props Designer: Jenna Lauren Carroll.
Plays:
“Camouflage (Scene 1: Thaer)” by Ahmed Masoud. Director: Nick McDow Musleh. Dramaturg: Marina Johnson. CAST: Thaer: Ameen Safi. Salman: Thameen Mansour. Ensemble: Setareh Greenwood, Hind Jadallah-Karraa, Charisse Loriaux, Leda Rasooli, Ramtin Vaziri, Dina Zarif.
“Homing Pigeons & Co” by Sepehr Jafari. Director: Torange Yeghiazarian. Dramaturg: Nakissa Etemad. CAST: Halan: Leda Rasooli. Tina: Setareh Greenwood. Cop: Hind Jadallah-Karraa.
“Camouflage (Scene 2: Nibal)” by Ahmed Masoud. Director: Nick McDow Musleh. Dramaturg: Marina Johnson. CAST: Nibal: Hind Jadallah-Karraa. Tamara, Sutter’s Mother: Charisse Loriaux. Nibal’s Dad: Thameen Mansour. Wissam: Ramtin Vaziri. Fira/Ensemble: Ameen Safi.
“Blood Fruit” by Hannah Khalil. Director: Wynne Chan. Dramaturg: Nakissa Etemad. CAST: 1: Charisse Loriaux. 2: Leda Rasooli. 3: Hind Jadallah-Karraa. 4: Setareh Greenwood. 5: Ramtin Vaziri. Customer 1: Dina Zarif. Customer 2: Ameen Safi. Customer 3: Thameen Mansour.
“Camouflage (Scene 3: Zeid)” by Ahmed Masoud. Director: Nick McDow Musleh. Dramaturg: Marina Johnson. CAST: Zeid: Thameen Mansour. Ruqayya: Charisse Loriaux. Girl: Hind Jadallah-Karraa. Policeman: Ameen Safi. Ensemble: Ramtin Vaziri.
“Dare Not Speak” by Hassan Abdulrazzak. Director: Salim Razawi. Dramaturg: Nakissa Etemad. CAST: Natalie: Charisse Loriaux. Hind: Hind Jadallah-Karraa.
“Camouflage (Scene 4: Sami)” by Ahmed Masoud. Director: Nick McDow Musleh. Dramaturg: Marina Johnson. CAST: Sami: Ramtin Vaziri. Ensemble: Setareh Greenwood, Hind Jadallah-Karraa, Charisse Loriaux, Thameen Mansour, Leda Rasooli, Ameen Safi.
“Regarding Antigone” by Banafsheh Hassani. Director: Nabra Nelson with Taraneh Sarrafzadeh (Wellness & Movement Consultant). Actor: Dina Zarif.