Mazin Akar, Neagheen Homaifar & More to Star in SELLING KABUL at Signature Theatre

Signature Theatre has announced the cast and creative team for the play Selling Kabul, written by Sylvia Khoury (Power Strip, Against the Hillside). Selling Kabul is directed by Shadi Ghaheri (Rattlestick Theatre's Glimpse, HERE's Lucretia). Performances run February 21 - April 2, 2023 in Signature's ARK Theatre. Tickets are available at SigTheatre.org.

In 2013, a sister secretly shelters her translator brother from an increasingly powerful Taliban while he awaits the ever-delayed arrival of a promised American visa. On the eve of his son's birth, the walls begin to close in, threatening him, her and everyone they love in a heart-racing exposé with devastating echoes to the present day. Breathtaking and unpredictable through the final curtain, this unflinching exploration exposes the human toll of American withdrawal.

"Selling Kabul is a heart-racing Pulitzer Prize finalist that examines the ongoing crisis in Afghanistan with striking humanity. Sylvia Khoury has written an astounding play about the personal and political consequences of U.S. foreign policy decisions," said Artistic Director Matthew Gardiner. "We are thrilled to present the Washington, D.C. area premiere of Sylvia Khoury's important new play here at Signature."

"While the war may be over for Americans, the conflict continues for Afghans impacted by the American withdrawal," said Director Shadi Ghaheri. "Over the past twenty years, America has caused a human crisis in Afghanistan, and it is imperative that we see the humanity of the people affected. Selling Kabul is a story about the dreams and fears of four Afghans trying to survive in these complicated and unjust circumstances and asks you to see these individuals and their lives in full. It is my hope that within the specificity of this story, we can think of the human rights that ought to be honored for all individual Afghans!"

The cast for Selling Kabul includes Mazin Akar (Broadway's The Kite Runner, Theatre Row's Banned) as Taroon, Neagheen Homaifar (Apple TV's Houston, Peacock's Killing It) as Leyla, Yousof Sultani (Arena Stage's A Thousand Splendid Suns, Woolly Mammoth's This Is Who I Am) as Jawid, and Awesta Zarif (Seattle Rep's Selling Kabul, Geva Theatre Center's Jane Eyre) as Afiya. Raghad Almakhlouf (The Welder's In This Hope - A Pericles Project) and Ramtin Vaziri (Constellation Theatre Company's The White Snake) are understudies.

The creative team for Selling Kabul includes Scenic Design by Tony Cisek (Signature's The Color Purple, New York Theatre Workshop's columbinus), Costume Design by Moyenda Kulemeka (Signature's Detroit '67, Synetic Theater's Cinderella), Lighting Design by John D. Alexander (Signature's Daphne's Dive, Mosaic Theater's Marys Seacole), and Sound Design by Matt Otto (Folger Theater's Nell Gwynn, Barrington Stage's All of Me). Humaira Ghilzai is the Cultural Consultant & Dramaturg. Casting is by Jorge Acevedo & JZ Casting, Geoff Josselson, CSA & Katja Zarolinski, CSA. Lauren Pekel is the Production Stage Manager and Erica Feidelseit is the Production Assistant.

About Signature Theatre

Signature Theatre is a Tony Award®-winning regional theater that broadens and brightens the region's cultural landscape with its bold productions of challenging new and established works and engaging education and outreach programs. Founded in 1989 by Eric Schaeffer and Donna Migliaccio, and currently under the leadership of Managing Director Maggie Boland and Artistic Director Matthew Gardiner, musical theater is Signature's "signature," and the Theatre is renowned for its definitive Sondheim productions, inventive adaptations of overlooked or forgotten works, and investment in fresh new projects. Signature combines Broadway-caliber productions with intimate playing spaces and aims to be a leading force in U.S. musical theater.

Since its inception, the Theatre has produced 60 world premiere works-including 19 new musical commissions. Signature opens its doors to more than 100,000 people annually from the Washington, DC region and beyond and reaches more than 10,000 students every year through its innovative education programs, including the award-winning initiative Signature in the Schools. Signature has won 134 Helen Hayes Awards for excellence in the Washington, DC region's professional theater and has been honored with 452 nominations.