New York Theatre Workshop to Present IN THE BRICKS FESTIVAL

New York Theatre Workshop will present the first ever In the Bricks Festival, a curated festival of intimate work that explores the elemental connection between performer, audience and our times presented in the bricks of New York Theatre Workshop. 
 
The In the Bricks Festival will feature The Horse of Jenin, written & performed by Alaa Shehada (London Jenin), produced by Troupe Courage, North American tour produced by 55B Productions/Jenny Tibbels, directed by Katrien Van Beurden (“Rampvlucht”) & Thomas Van Ouwerkerk (Horror), and co-presented with PlayCo; and The Peculiar Patriot, written & performed by Liza Jessie Peterson (ALL DAY: A Year of Love and Survival Teaching Incarcerated Kids at Rikers Island), directed by Talvin Wilks (UDU), and co-presented with National Black Theatre in association with Lena Waithe, playing in repertory at 79 E 4th Street. Presented in repertory at 83 E 4th Street will be Mention My Beauty, written & performed by Leslie Ayvazian (Nine Armenians); and Sardines (a comedy about death), written & performed by Chris Grace (“Superstore”), and directed by Eric Michaud(“Chris Grace: as Scarlett Johannson”).
 
The In the Bricks Festival will begin performances at New York Theatre Workshop and the 4th Street Theatre in May 2026.
 
The In the Bricks Festival lineup will include:

PRESENTED IN REPERTORY @ 79 E 4TH STREET:

New York Theatre Workshop and PlayCo Present 
THE HORSE OF JENIN
 
Written and Performed by Alaa Shehada
A Troupe Courage Production
North American Tour Produced by 55B Productions / Jenny Tibbels
Directed by Katrien van Beurden and Thomas van Ouwerkerk
 
“The horse in Arabic is a symbol of freedom. But to us, this horse is much more. This horse is us.”
 
Built from the debris of a major invasion, the Horse of Jenin sculpture became a constant presence in Alaa’s life growing up in Occupied Palestine. It stood proudly in the center of the city for twenty years, symbolizing hope and resistance.
 
Then, on October 29, 2023, an Israeli bulldozer entered the city, ripping the sculpture from its place — and from its people. Now, Alaa is left wondering… What happened to the horse?
 
Fresh from an acclaimed run at the 2025 Edinburgh Fringe Festival and combining storytelling, mask, and stand-up comedy, The Horse of Jenin is constructed from the fragments of Palestinian actor and comedian Alaa Shehada’s own memories and stands as an ode to the power of imagination and the resilience it brings.
 
The Horse of Jenin creative team includes Sam Beale (Stand-Up Comedy Consultant & Co-Writer), Den Durand (masks), Remy van Kesteren and Khalil Al Batran (music), Maarten Bos (dramaturgy), Roderick Bredenoord (Technical Designer), Sacha Muller (Artistic Associate) and Monique Bos (Company Manager Troupe Courage).
 
 
New York Theatre Workshop and National Black Theatre Present

THE PECULIAR PATRIOT

 
In association with Lena Waithe
Written and Performed by Liza Jessie Peterson
Directed by Talvin Wilks
 
Inspired by her decades-long work with prison populations, including on the notorious Rikers Island, Liza Jessie Peterson’s timely and urgent one-person show unpacks the human impact of mass incarceration in America. Fearlessly funny, smart and provocative, The Peculiar Patriot traces the migration of systemic injustice from the plantation to the prison yard.
 
Betsy LaQuanda Ross is a self-proclaimed “peculiar patriot,” who makes regular visits to penitentiaries to boost the morale of her incarcerated friends and family. Betsy is both victim and victor of this country’s prison system and her story turns statistics into achingly relatable stories, drawn from the experience of more than 2.5 million people behind bars. 
 
The Peculiar Patriot began development in 2003 with performances in more than 35 penitentiaries across the U.S. and was once again performed for inmates in January 2020 at Angola State Penitentiary. Hi-ARTS and National Black Theatre joined forces to produce the acclaimed world premiere in September 2017, working with more than 10 grass-roots organizations in criminal justice to help empower and inform the community. This touring production premiered at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, in association with National Black Theatre & Hi-ARTS, in April 2019. The Peculiar Patriot will be produced at Baltimore Center Stage from Oct 15-Nov 9, 2025.
 
The Peculiar Patriot creative team includes Andrew Cissna (Scenic and Lighting Designer), Katherine Freer(Projection Designer), LaToya Murray-Berry (Costume Designer), Luqman Brown (Sound Designer), Belynda M’Baye (Props Designer) and James Blaszko (Tour Producer).
 
 
PRESENTED IN REPERTORY @ 83 E 4TH STREET:
 

MENTION MY BEAUTY

Written and Performed by Leslie Ayvazian
 
Mention My Beauty is a one-woman performance piece by playwright and performer Leslie Ayvazian (Nine Armenians) who speaks candidly about navigating the anti-war movement, the women’s movement, and the sexual revolution. There’s also the heartbreak of the expectations of Armenian parents still reeling from the Genocide of 1915. Leslie tells decidedly unsentimental, often hilarious stories of her life as a young woman surviving the cultural revolution without a plan.
 

SARDINES (a comedy about death)