A Co-Production with SFBATCO
Arab Spring
by Denmo Ibrahim
A biting comedy about loss, grief, and the wars we wage in family
Yusef, a recovering addict and Dina, his controlling big sister, return on the 4th of July to their childhood home in the suburbs to bury their deadbeat Dad. Can they figure out a) how to do an Islamic funeral before his body goes cold, b) who their estranged father was, and c) what family means without killing each other? Inshallah.
June 19, 2026 - July 12, 2026
Potrero Stage
1695 18th Street, San Francisco, CA
Written by Denmo Ibrahim
Directed by Nailah Unole didanas’ea Harper-Malveaux
Golden Thread Affiliated Artist Denmo Ibrahim has a long history with Golden Thread. She has been part of the Golden Thread artistic family as a writer (ECSTASY: a waterfable) and performer (Our Enemies: Lively Scenes of Love and Combat, ReOrient 2023 and ReOrient 2015).
Creative Team
Playwright
Denmo Ibrahim (she/her) is an American playwright, actor, and theatre maker of Egyptian descent. She is the recipient of the Legacy Playwright Award from Advance Gender Equity in the Arts and was shortlisted for the 2025 Princess Grace Award. Her plays include Arab Spring (Finalist: O’Neill National Playwrights Conference, Rainin Fellowship), BABA (Winner: Theatre Bay Area “Best Original Script”; SFBATCC “Best New Play” & “Best Solo Show”), The Weight of an Orange (The Playwrights’ Revolution, Capital Stage) and Naguib Mahfuz Was Stabbed in the Neck and Almost Died (Finalist: Sundance Theatre Lab). Her children’s book Zaynab’s Night of Destiny, an audio immersive experience for young audiences, toured throughout Kentucky public schools and was supported by the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Arts.
Denmo’s creative work has been produced and developed by Audible, Round House Theatre, Williamston Theatre, Marin Theatre Company, Noor Theatre, The Civilians R&D Series, Amphibian Stage, Alter Theatre, Shotgun Players, Golden Thread, and Crowded Fire.
As an educator, she has led workshops in storytelling and ensemble devised theatre at Harvard University, University of Michigan, the University of Wisconsin, and LOYAC in Kuwait. She currently serves as Chair of the MENA Theatre Makers Alliance (MENATMA), a national coalition advancing visibility and equity for SWANA artists. Denmo holds an MFA from Naropa University and a BFA from Boston University.
Nailah Unole didanas'ea Harper-Malveaux
Director
Nailah Unole didanas'ea Harper-Malveaux
Nailah Unole didanas’ea Harper-Malveaux (she/her) is a queer multiracial theater director and producer. Directing highlights include: the rolling world premiere of Haunted by Tara Moses (Cleveland Public Theatre), the West Coast premiere of The Last of the Love Letters by Ngozi Anyanwu and Edit Annie by Mary Glen Fredrick (Crowded Fire), the world premiere of Getting There by Dipika Guha (NCTC), and The Light by Loy A. Webb (Shotgun Players). She serves as the Leader of Artistic Curation at Crowded Fire Theater. She has worked as a freelance artist at Cleveland Public Theater, Woolly Mammoth, Pasadena Playhouse, Williamstown Theater Festival, Berkeley Rep, Baltimore Center Stage, Z Space, and American Conservatory Theater. She received her B.A. in American Studies and Theatre Studies from Yale University.