Middle Eastern American Theatre: Communities, Cultures, and Artists. Michael Malek Najjar. Critical Companions Series. London: Methuen Drama, 2021; Pp. xvi + 237.

For over a decade, Michael Malek Najjar has been one of the most accomplished and prolific scholars of Middle Eastern American theatre. His latest monograph, Middle Eastern American Theatre: Communities, Cultures, and Artists, seems a natural extension of his earlier publications on the subject, as it further expands the creative and academic profile of theatrical work generated by Middle Eastern diasporic artists in the United States and Canada. As with much of his previous scholarship, Najjar’s research is grounded in archival materials, interviews, and first-hand observations of productions, the analyses of which are presented in an approachable manner that makes the book suitable for academic and non-academic audiences alike. Through a detailed, incisive exploration encompassing an ambitious slate of plays, theatre companies, and artist testimonies, Najjar assertively positions Middle Eastern American theatre as its own genre—one that is nuanced, multi-faceted, and well deserving of a place in the contemporary theatrical canon.

The book’s Introduction effectively synthesizes the complex historical and geopolitical web that surrounds the ancestral homelands of Middle Eastern American theatre practitioners, emphasizing for readers the fallacy of trying to impose any kind of homogenous collective identity on its diasporic populations. Myriad religions, cultures, and countries exist under the umbrella of “the Middle East” which, as Najjar notes, is a term that “carries tremendous cultural baggage that includes colonialism, Orientalism, and perverse notions of the region that have been perpetuated through scholarship, popular entertainment, and the arts” (3). The extreme diversity inherent in the broader Middle Eastern American identity extends to the theatrical output of its artistic diaspora. As such, Najjar argues that the concept of polyculturalism is a more apt framework with which to approach the genre. In contrast to multiculturalism, which is predicated upon the notion of cultures as fixed and indelibly disconnected, polyculturalism recognizes that “people descend from multiple lineages” and celebrates the ways in which “cultures influence one another over time” (11). This reframing not only challenges reductive categorizations, but also affirms the fluid, intersecting identities that are reflected in Middle Eastern American theatre today.

The following chapters of the book explore the cultural production of Middle Eastern American theatremakers through this lens of polyculturalism, with a particular emphasis on the work of Arab, Jewish, Turkish, and Iranian American artists. Najjar begins with a chapter that chronicles the endeavors of sixteen production companies in the United States devoted to supporting work of the Middle Eastern diaspora. While this portion of the volume feels rather encyclopedic due to its organizational style, Najjar provides an easily digestible history of the origins of each company, including brief descriptions of representative productions that illustrate the impressive breadth of performance styles offered—from stand-up comedy to Yiddish theatre to plays that star a male actor in drag as a Lebanese matriarch. Najjar makes a point of noting that most of the organizations listed “have produced these works on the stage despite the lack of funding, resources, and personnel” (41), emphasizing the ongoing challenges and chronic underfunding of Middle Eastern American theatre.

Najjar organizes the subsequent five chapters thematically, devoting each section to an analysis of a common dramaturgical thread across several plays. The first, “Return to the Homeland Plays,” explores performances that chronicle their creators’ complex journeys to and from their ancestral homelands. While the narrative in each of these plays largely centers on the renegotiation of its creator’s hyphenated identity during the pilgrimage, in production these pieces also function as pedagogical opportunities for American spectators. By sharing their deeply personal accounts, these artists are “translating their experiences for audiences who they believe should know more about what is being done, both political and militarily, in the Middle East, in their name” (72). Four of the five plays investigated in this chapter are solo shows performed by the playwrights which, though not a commonality investigated directly by Najjar, would be a compelling addition to the chapter’s overall assertion that personal theatrical testimony can serve as a powerful political intervention.

In contrast to the exploration of familial homelands in Chapter 2, the following two chapters shift focus to life in the Americas. Chapter 3, “Persecution Plays,” examines how Middle Eastern American playwrights address governmental and social persecution in the United States. Najjar effectively situates his chosen texts within the broader landscape of political theatre, highlighting how theatre serves as a means of resistance in the face of extreme discrimination and violence. The subsequent chapter, “Diaspora Plays,” also delves into the complexities of transnational identities, but through a more personal lens. Works such as Heather Raffo’s Noura and Jason Sherman’s Reading Hebron reflect the tensions of navigating American and Canadian society, respectively, while maintaining connections to ancestral homelands. These two chapters are particularly strong in their discussions of how the selected plays blur the boundaries between personal and political, local and global, in ways that resonate deeply with diasporic populations.

While there is similar overlap between the narrative of focus of the plays discussed in Chapter 6, “Conflict,” and those in the preceding Chapter 5, “Plays Set in the Homeland,” Najjar’s specific attention to works that address the Israel-Palestine conflict in both chapters feels both remarkably prescient and newly profound. In Chapter 5, Najjar investigates narratives that depict the reality of life in the Middle East as people navigate the strain of war, displacement, and political unrest. “This reimagining of a lost homeland or of a homeland that is being destroyed, occupied, or under siege is,” he asserts, “an attempt by these playwrights to reclaim a lost history or heritage” (131). Chapter 6 engages with the conflicts themselves, paying particular focus to the Israel-Palestine conflict and its position with a lineage of other global struggles. These two chapters underscore how Middle Eastern American playwrights use theatre to challenge dominant perspectives and foster deeper understanding of often-misunderstood conflicts. This theme is carried through the two brief concluding sections of the volume, one of which charts the founding of the Middle Eastern North African Theatre Makers Alliance (MENATMA) in 2019, and the other presents critical perspectives from current directors and leaders in the field.

In the Preface to his volume, Najjar makes a point to note that his primary goal in publishing this book is to introduce the work of Middle Eastern American theatre artists to the world “in the hopes that these plays will receive more scholarship, publishing, funding, and productions in the future” (xv). Given the funding freezes impacting the arts and the full-scale attacks on projects that promote diversity and inclusion in 2025, Najjar’s desire for artistic parity seems even more aspirational than when this book was first published in 2021. However, this manuscript is a testament to the resilience and innovation of Middle Eastern American theatre artists in the twenty-first century, and it provides a crucial intervention for scholars and practitioners committed to exploring its continued transformations. This book will undoubtedly serve as a foundational text for those interested in theatre, diaspora studies, and cultural representation in the performing arts.