Theater

Theater

The Crisis of Identity and the Representation of the Middle Eastern Immigrant Artist in Migration Theater: A Postcolonial Reading of the Salaam. Peace Anthology

Document Type : Original Article

Author
M.A in dramatic literature, Faculty of Cinema and Theater, Iran University of Arts, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract
This article examines the crisis of identity and the representation of the Middle Eastern immigrant artist in migration theater through a postcolonial reading of Salaam, Peace. Grounded in Edward Said’s concept of othering and Homi Bhabha’s theory of the third space and hybridity, the study explores how migrant playwrights reconstruct identity within dominant Western discourses. Using qualitative textual analysis, the research focuses on three plays: Ten Acrobats in an Amazing Leap of Faith by Yussef El Guindi, Crescent by Diana Abu-Jaber, and A Song in the Ashes by Heather Raffo. The findings indicate that these works move beyond merely portraying migrant experience; they actively challenge stereotypical representations by employing fragmented narrative structures, bilingual expression, and embodied performance. In the post-9/11 context—marked by intensified securitization and negative representations of Middle Eastern communities—these plays construct liminal cultural spaces that enable resistance and identity rearticulation. Through artistic intervention, migration theater becomes a site for negotiating belonging, memory, and power. The study demonstrates that postcolonial performance not only critiques hegemonic discourses but also enables the creative reimagining of migrant subjectivity. Migration theater thus emerges as a dynamic arena for cultural agency and identity reconstruction in contemporary global contexts.
Keywords

  • Receive Date 10 May 2025
  • Revise Date 01 June 2025
  • Accept Date 13 June 2025