NIGHT TRAVELLER MAR 26 @ 6PM
by Salah Abdul Saboor // translated by M. M. Enani // directed by Sivan Battat
Salah Abdul Saboor’s absurdist classic (1969, Egypt) in translation by M. M. Enani. In a night train heading to nowhere, a passenger — or you, or me — hurtles into the barrenness of a meaningless existence.
creative team
SALAH ABDUL SABOOR / PLAYWRIGHT (he/his)
is an Egyptian pioneer of modern Arabic poetry and a writer of poetic dramas. Within a period of ten years, he had five poetic plays published. The first was The Tragedy of Al-Hallaj (1965), for which he was granted the State Incentive Award for Theatre in 1966.
SIVAN BATATT / DIRECTOR (she/they)
is an Iraqi-Jewish theater director, cultural worker, and educator based in New York City. Recent credits: Who the Fuck is Ahmed by Michael Zalta (Rough Draft Fest, LPAC), Raphael Khouri’s She He Me (National Queer Theater), Coexistence My Ass by Noam Shuster (Harvard University/Tour), Pie Shop Play by Alice Pencavel (Corkscrew Festival), East o’, West o’! by Michelle J. Rodriguez (ANTFest, Ars Nova). As a cultural worker, she has worked with Jews for Racial and Economic Justice in numerous capacities and recently curated Salon al-Mahjar, a performance salon for queer and trans MENASA artists. Sivan leads ancestral storytelling workshops within queer and Middle Eastern communities, is an active community organizer, and serves on the board of Ammud: the Jews of Color Torah Academy. www.sivanbattat.com
CAST
OLIVIA ABIASSI (she/her)
is an Lebanese actor and writer based in NYC, but currently living in Texas. She's had the privilege to be a part of some really fun Zoom readings, commercials, and films in 2020 but, most importantly, she relearned how to skate on her Heelys and perfect her mujadara.
LOUIS SALLAN (he/his)
is an Iraqi American actor and dialect/acting coach who has his BA from Western Michigan University and an MFA from NYU Graduate Acting. Theater credits: Romeo and Juliet at Alabama Shakespeare Festival (Tybalt); Oslo at Northern Stage (Hassan); The Invisible Hand at Cleveland Playhouse (Bashir); The Mecca Tales at the Sheen Center (Reza); The Strangest at New York Theatre Workshop (Nounu). Quarantine work: She He Me at my bedroom (Omar). TV and film credits: Blue Bloods, The Blacklist, The Blacklist: Redemption, and Madame Secretary.
MARIAM BAZEED (they/them)
is a nonbinary Egyptian immigrant, writer, performer, and cook living in a rent-stabilized apartment in Brooklyn. An alliteration-leaning writer of prose, poetry, plays, and personal essays, Mariam received an MFA in Fiction from Hunter College and enjoys performing on the page and the stage.
SALMA ZOHDI / DRAMATURG
TONI LYNN GUIDRY / STAGE MANAGER