AustLit

'Karim and his best friend, Layla, watch trains coming and going from the local station and dream of a life with a better future.

'On the rural outskirts of South West Sydney, Karim and his Dad, Joe, work as cucumber farmers. At night, they search trash for treasures to make ends meet.

'When Karim and Joe are evicted, their neighbour Abdul provides refuge. At his house, Karim discovers an oud, a traditional Middle Eastern instrument. Inspired by the beauty of its sound, Karim secretly begins playing the instrument, realising it might be the key to a new destiny.

'Karim explores families, duty and generational divides.'

Source: Production blurb.

"Yannis, a first-generation Lebanese/Greek Australia, older teenager, has been rejected by his family for being gay. Now living under a bridge, he’s working the local beats as a sex worker. Omar, his best friend, once in the same situation, is now determined to better his life and begins to pull away."

Source: Flickerfest

'Fast approaching 31, Fatima is feeling the pressure from her bakery owning family to get married and have children. Her boyfriend, Karim, wants their relationship to remain secret. His high-flying, lawyer parents definitely wouldn’t approve of the match. In an effort to prove to Karim and his family she is worthy of his love, Fatima comes up with a plan to win Queen Lebanon Australia. Moonia, the pageant organiser, accepts Fatima because this year she wants a ‘diverse group of girls’ and Fatima is unlike anything the competition has seen before.

'With the help of her 74 year-old best friend Gada and her coffee cup readings, Fatima goes through a transformation that not even she expected.'

Source: National Theatre of Parramatta.

'Adam has everything under control. As each day passes and he knows what to expect: Casual sex when he wants it, his traditional Lebanese parents wrapped around his finger and the only person he can be his true self with, his cousin Claire, right by his side. He has a grip on it all and is content.

'Until Claire announces her engagement to a man abroad in Lebanon. Claire, just like Adam, is gay.

'With their truce shaken, Adam begins to lose his grip, little by little. Sex isn’t getting him high any more and his parents start asking questions he hasn’t prepared answers to. His culture and sexuality clash and his truth becomes a beast the lies he’s used to telling won’t contain any longer.'

Source: Belvoir Street Theatre.

'Unapologetic, piercing and deliciously funny-until-it’s-not, Lady Tabouli is James Elazzi‘s unflinching clash of cultures and a searing look at how expectations can eat away at us until we decide to change the rules.

'It’s the day of his nephew’s baptism and Danny is godfather. Living back home with his religious Lebanese mother, he’s thrown into the maelstrom of preparations and high emotions: God forbid this christening comes second to the Boustanis’! The family can’t afford to lose face, especially with Danny recently and mysteriously calling off his engagement. But secrets will out, and amidst the sugared almonds and balloon deliveries, Danny discovers the true colours of those to whom he’s closest. Where do you turn when the people you love refuse to accept the truth?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Omar, a first-generation Lebanese Muslim Australian, is in and out of foster homes. Hungry for a warm bed and determined not to return to a life on the streets, he reluctantly agrees to be placed with 80-year-old Dawn. His best friend Ahmed has been rejected by his family for being gay and now lives under a bridge, working the local beats as a sex-worker. As Ahmed’s mental health deteriorates, Omar is determined to forge a better life for them both.

'Unflinching and unapologetic, James Elazzi paints a searing portrait of culture, sexuality and isolation. In a howl of rage and love he asks: Where do we find refuge when the world seems to have forgotten us?'

Source: Apocalypse Theatre Company.