Kareem Fahmy

Kareem Fahmy

Kareem Fahmy is a Canadian-born playwright and director of Egyptian descent. He received the 2022 Woodward/Newman Playwriting Award (for American Fast), a NYSCA/NYFA Playwriting Fellowship, the Janet Sloane Literature Residency at Yaddo, is a two-time finalist for the National Showcase of New Plays, and was named a Rising Leader of Color by TCG. American Fast is receiving a National New Play Network Rolling...
Kareem Fahmy is a Canadian-born playwright and director of Egyptian descent. He received the 2022 Woodward/Newman Playwriting Award (for American Fast), a NYSCA/NYFA Playwriting Fellowship, the Janet Sloane Literature Residency at Yaddo, is a two-time finalist for the National Showcase of New Plays, and was named a Rising Leader of Color by TCG. American Fast is receiving a National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere at Artists Repertory Theatre, City Theatre, and InterAct Theatre. A Distinct Society will receive a co-world premiere at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley and Pioneer Theatre. Dodi & Diana (O’Neill NPC Finalist) received a world premiere at Colt Coeur. Other plays include Pareidolia, The In-Between, and an adaptation of the acclaimed novel The Yacoubian Building. Kareem’s work has been seen at Atlantic Theatre Company, Denver Center, Northlight Theatre, Capital Repertory Theatre, New York Stage & Film, and more. Commissions: Artists Repertory Theatre, Ensemble Studio Theatre/Sloan, Colt Coeur. Fellowships: The Old Globe, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Sundance Theatre Lab. Co-founder/Chair of the Middle Eastern American Writers Lab. MFA (Theatre Directing), Columbia.

Plays

  • Dodi & Diana by Kareem Fahmy
    Recommendations: 2
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    Cast: 
    2
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    Genre: biography, dark comedy + 1 more
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    Keyword: a marriage in crisis, astrology + 8 more
    Genre: biography, dark comedy, drama
    Keyword: a marriage in crisis, astrology, princess diana, dodi fayed, English Royal Family scandals, investment banking, Yale Drama School, dogs, Spiritual and emotional growth, a couple
    A husband and wife travel to Paris to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the death of Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed, unearthing an uncanny connection to the star-crossed lovers that will alter the trajectory of their marriage.
  • American Fast by Kareem Fahmy
    Recommendations: 20
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    Cast: 
    4
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    Genre: dark comedy, drama + 1 more
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    Keyword: women's rights in Islam, Islam + 7 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama, faith-based
    Keyword: women's rights in Islam, Islam, American college students, college age characters, college age actors, college sports, sports, Women's basketball, March Madness basketball
    Twenty-one-year-old college basketball sensation Khady Salama makes it to March Madness, only to become a flashpoint of controversy when she lies about observing the Muslim fast while competing in the tournament.
  • A Distinct Society by Kareem Fahmy
    Recommendations: 17
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    Cast: 
    5
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    Genre: dark comedy, drama + 1 more
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    Keyword: American politics, American/Middle East Personal Politics + 7 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama, political
    Keyword: American politics, American/Middle East Personal Politics, art and politics, inspired by real life, Iran, Iranian-American, Canada, French Canadian, opera
    A quiet library that straddles the border of the U.S. and Canada becomes an unlikely crucible for five people from around the world. When an Iranian family, separated from one another by the "Muslim ban," use the library as a meeting place, the head librarian, a U.S. border patrol officer, and a local teenager have to choose between breaking the law and saving themselves.
  • The Yacoubian Building by Kareem Fahmy
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    13–14
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    Genre: adaptation, drama
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    Keyword: Middle East, epic
    Genre: adaptation, drama
    Keyword: Middle East, epic
    Based on the novel that became an international sensation, 'The Yacoubian Building' is set in Cairo, chronicling the lives of Egyptians of different religions, sexual orientations, and class backgrounds. The titular apartment block becomes a microcosm of an Egypt infested with corruption, discrimination, and despair. A love letter to the Middle East, the play conjures an Egypt before the Arab Spring,...
    Based on the novel that became an international sensation, 'The Yacoubian Building' is set in Cairo, chronicling the lives of Egyptians of different religions, sexual orientations, and class backgrounds. The titular apartment block becomes a microcosm of an Egypt infested with corruption, discrimination, and despair. A love letter to the Middle East, the play conjures an Egypt before the Arab Spring, still on the brink of change, deeply divided but full of hope.
  • The Triumphant by Kareem Fahmy
    Recommendations: 6
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    Cast: 
    5
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    Genre: docudrama/historic, drama + 4 more
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    Keyword: Arab American, gay + 2 more
    Genre: docudrama/historic, drama, fable/folktale, movement/physical, political, tragedy
    Keyword: Arab American, gay, mythology, social issues
    Trapped in a prison, a group of gay men conjure the fantastical stories of Sindbad the Sailor as they await their uncertain future. Drawn both from interviews conducted with members of the LGBTQ community in Egypt and mythic stories of survival and bravery, 'The Triumphant' is about the resilience of the human spirit even in the face of the greatest adversities.
  • Pareidolia by Kareem Fahmy
    Recommendations: 6
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    Cast: 
    6
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    Genre: dark comedy, drama + 1 more
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    Keyword: Arab American, marriage + 6 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama, mystery/thriller
    Keyword: Arab American, marriage, gay marriage, catfishing, online dating, Relationships, mother and son, Gay and LGBTQ
    When Mal, an Egyptian-American personal trainer, and Adam, a Jewish investment banker, match on an online dating service, they form an immediate and intense bond. From the initial blush of flirtation, they gradually spiral into mistrust, secrecy and pain. Real-world and online identities become confused until nothing is what it seems. PAREIDOLIA is a darkly comic and terrifying look at intimacy, connection, and...
    When Mal, an Egyptian-American personal trainer, and Adam, a Jewish investment banker, match on an online dating service, they form an immediate and intense bond. From the initial blush of flirtation, they gradually spiral into mistrust, secrecy and pain. Real-world and online identities become confused until nothing is what it seems. PAREIDOLIA is a darkly comic and terrifying look at intimacy, connection, and disconnection in the modern age.
  • The In-Between by Kareem Fahmy
    Recommendations: 6
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    Cast: 
    5
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    Genre: drama, mystery/thriller + 1 more
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    Keyword: Arab, Arab American + 5 more
    Genre: drama, mystery/thriller, political
    Keyword: Arab, Arab American, Arab Spring, Egypt, supernatural, gay, Islamophobia
    Set in the midst of the Arab Spring and the world financial meltdown, THE IN-BETWEEN is a tense supernatural thriller about the oppositions that define our existence. When Nabil, an Egyptian revolutionary fleeing Cairo during the 2011 uprising, arrives in New York to stay with his American-born cousin Fatima, he is carrying with him a terrible and ancient secret. Fatima’s roommates, Parker and Benjamin, are a...
    Set in the midst of the Arab Spring and the world financial meltdown, THE IN-BETWEEN is a tense supernatural thriller about the oppositions that define our existence. When Nabil, an Egyptian revolutionary fleeing Cairo during the 2011 uprising, arrives in New York to stay with his American-born cousin Fatima, he is carrying with him a terrible and ancient secret. Fatima’s roommates, Parker and Benjamin, are a couple who have reached a threshold in their burgeoning relationship. Epsa, a young Muslim woman from Macedonia, gets drawn into Nabil’s inner turmoil. All five of these individuals become embroiled in the eternal conflict between light and dark where humankind is caught perilously in the middle.