The President's Lecture Series presents the Masrah Ensemble's Doomed by Hope Theatre Series

At a time of great social and political transformation in the Middle East, the President's Lecture Series spring event will feature the Masrah Ensemble, which is orchestrating its Doomed by Hope Theatre Series, including internationally renowned theatre artists and scholars from Egypt and Syria.

Production Credits

Doomed by Hope Theatre Series

Dalia Basiouny is a writer, theatre director, translator, and university professor in Egypt. She has directed 18 plays in Egypt, United Kingdom, and the United States, and her plays have been performed in Morocco, Iraq, Zimbabwe, and Germany. She is the founder of the independent Egyptian theater troupe Sabeel, which focuses on promoting women's work, researching ways of integrating theatre and video to create non-traditional plays, and perform them in alternative spaces.

Mohammad Al Attar is a Syrian playwright and dramaturge who graduated from Damascus University. His play Withdrawal was adapted for performances in London, New York, New Delhi, Berlin, Tunisia, and Beirut. "Online" premiered at London's Royal Court Theatre, and "Can You Please Look Into the Camera" premiered in Glasgow and Seoul in April 2012. Al Attar has been a dramaturge for the Studio Theatre Company in Damascus and also the coordinator for the International Theater & Modern Dance Program, at Damascus Arab Capital of Culture.

Eyad Houssami makes and writes about theatre. He is the founding director of Masrah Ensemble and the editor of the English and Arabic editions of Doomed by Hope: Essays on Arab Theatre. He has performed in dead Byzantine cities in Syria; produced a monodrama in a 13th century mansion only to be shut down by the government; and his play Mama Butterfly received a staged reading at the Between the Seas Festival (New York 2010). A recipient of Rotary and Fulbright grants, he also co-founded and served as President of the Yale Arab Alumni Association.


President's Lecture Series Committee
Dr. Corrine Blake
Rebekah Maggor
Dr. Glenn Odom


Masrah Ensemble Website
Masrah Ensemble on Facebook
Department of Theatre and Dance on Facebook

"Solitaire" | KEYNOTE EVENT

Monday, April 1st, 5:00-7:00pm
Eynon Ballroom | Chamberlain Student Center

Dr. Dalia Basiouny performs her multi-media solo show "Solitaire" about women and political action, which connects the events of September 11th in the United States to the Egyptian Revolution of 2011. It highlights both events as main catalysts in the change the world has been, and will be, undergoing in the 21st Century.

RSVP for "Solitaire" on Facebook

"Tahrir Stories"

Monday April 1st, 12:15-1:30
Room 221 | Chamberlain Student Center

A Discussion with Dr. Dalia Basiouny about the making of the documentary performance piece "Tahrir Stories", which details the events of the Egyptian Revolution of 2011 through testimonies of the demonstrators in Tahrir Square.

RSVP for "Tahrir Stories" on Facebook

"Doomed by Hope"

Tuesday, April 2nd, 1:45-3:00pm
Boyd Recital Hall | Wilson Hall

Eyad Houssami, founder of Masrah Ensemble, gives a lecture on how the collaborative art of the theater in Lebanon, the Arab Middle East, and beyond provides a powerful medium and vital public forum through which to question, criticize, and contemplate shifting artistic, cultural, social, and political landscapes.

RSVP for "Doomed by Hope" on Facebook

"Theatre as Protest"

Tuesday, April 2nd, 3:15-4:30 pm
Boyd Recital Hall | Wilson Hall

A dramatic reading of works by Syrian playwright Mohammad Al Attar, performed by Rowan Theatre and Dance students, with an introduction and post-reading discussion with the playwright.

RSVP for "Theatre as Protest" on Facebook