UMD News Releases

Duluth, MN — Internationally recognized theatre artist, Dalia Basiouny, will present her one-woman play, Solitaire in the Marshall Performing Arts Center on Tuesday, October 21 at 7 p.m.

Solitaire is a multi-media performance that dramatically documents the issues of Arab women in a post-9/11 world by presenting the stories of three individuals with unique journeys toward peace, within themselves and in the world. The performance is presented in the form of a ritual that transforms the energy of the characters as well as that of the audience.

In addition to the performance of Solitaire, Dr. Basiouny will present a public lecture entitled “Art and Revolution,” sponsored by the Alworth Institute on Wednesday, October 22, 2014 at 7 p.m. in the Martin Library Rotunda.

Both the performance and the lecture are free and open to the public.

Solitaire has been presented in Cairo, Iraq, Morocco, Zimbabwe, Abu Dhab, and Germany, as well as in several U.S. cities. The play has received the theater award from the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (AFAC) 2010.

Dalia Basiouny is an Egyptian writer, theatre artist, and scholar whose work illuminates the issues of women and the function of art in times of revolution. Recently named a finalist for the League of Professional Theatre Women's Gilder/Coigney International Theatre Artist Award, Dr. Basiouny has directed internationally throughout the Middle East, Europe, and the United States. Most notably, her work was showcased at Kennedy Center’s Arabesque Festival in 2009. The recipient of many awards including the Fulbright Arts Grant (USA), and the British Council Chevening Scholarship (UK), Dr. Basiouny received her Ph.D. from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Her scholarship examines the political theatre of Arab American Women after 9/11. Basiouny teaches theatre at Helwan University and at the University of Cairo.

The Royal D. Alworth Institute sponsors these events for International Studies, the UMD Commission for Women, Department of Theatre, The School of Fine Arts, and the Office of Cultural Diversity.