The New York premiere of Heather Raffo’s drama Noura, directed by Joanna Settle, opens at Playwrights Horizons December 10. Set in New York, Noura tells the story of an Iraqi immigrant family's Christmas dinner disturbed by the arrival of a visitor who stirs up long-buried memories from the past.
Joining Raffo onstage are Dahlia Azama, Liam Campora, Matthew David, and Nabil Elouahabi.
Performances of Noura began November 27.
Raffo (Nine Parts of Desire) was inspired to write the play—the title is a nod to Ibsen’s A Doll’s House—after leading theatre workshops with Middle Eastern women in New York and seeing the feminist lens through which they responded to Ibsen's play and their own stories of leaving home. For Raffo, Noura is the story of a woman’s restless mind pushing against the confines of her home life and her past.
The creative team includes Andrew Lieberman (scenic design), Tilly Grimes (costume design), Masha Tsimring (lighting design), Obadiah Eaves (sound design), Laura Smith (production stage manager), and Shane Schentzler (assistant stage manager)
Noura received its world premiere in 2017 at the Women’s Voices Theater Festival presented in association with Shakespeare Theatre Company. The Playwrights Horizons staging is a co-production with Shakespeare Theatre Company.
