For artists, getting a quality review of their show is often critical to continued success. It can make or break new plays and emerging artists. However, works by BIPOC artists have often been subjected to the white critical gaze in reviews, which has frequently not made any attempt to account for the complexity of culture outside of the reviewer’s own understanding. There has been a major push by BIPOC artists to counter the white supremacy of reviews, including who writes the critiques and what they write about. In this episode, Arti Ishak and Yasmin Zacaria Mikhaiel talk about their experiences as MENA artists and critics, how they negotiate the field of criticism, and what changes can and must be made to the landscape.Kunafa and Shay is a podcast produced for HowlRound Theatre Commons by

co-hosts Nabra Nelson and Marina Johnson. Kunafa and Shay discusses and

analyzes contemporary and historical Middle Eastern and North African

(MENA) and Southwest Asian and North African (SWANA) theatre from across

the region.

Kunafa and Shay highlights MENA/SWANA plays and theatremakers,

spotlights community-engaged work in the region and diaspora, and

analyzes the past, present, and future of MENA/SWANA theatre in the

United States and beyond. Theatre artists and scholars Nabra Nelson and

Marina Johnson bring their own perspectives, research, and special

guests in order to start a dialogue and encourage further learning and

discussion.

The name, Kunafa and Shay, invites you into the discussion in the best

way we know how: with complex and delicious sweets like kunafa, and

perfectly warm tea (or, in Arabic, shay). Kunafa and Shay is a place to

share experiences, discuss ideas, and sometimes engage with our

differences. In each country in the region, you’ll find kunafa made

differently. In that way, we also lean into the diversity, complexity,

and robust flavors of MENA/SWANA theatre.