Contemporary Plays from Iraq: The Takeover / A Cradle / Ishtar in Baghdad / Summer Rain / Romeo and Juliet in Baghdad / Me, Torture, and Your Love / A Strange Bird on Our Roof / Ca

This volume consists of nine plays by Iraqi playwrights, mostly written since the American-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. The anthology features a general introduction by the editors and a brief introduction to each play, written by the playwright.

A. Al-Azraki is an Iraqi playwright.

Monadhil Daoud Albayati is a theatre director, playwright, and actor. He was born in 1960 in Basra. He has a PhD in Performing Arts and a High Diploma in Theatre Directing from the Theatre Academy in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and a Diploma in Directing from the Fine Arts Institute, Baghdad. He was a program supervisor at Spectrum London from 1995 through 1997. He is currently a director in the Department of Cinema and Theatre in the Iraqi Ministry of Culture. As an actor, he has appeared in the plays The Great Wall of China (Soor al-seen), The Court (Al-mahkama), The Dramatic Wedding (Al-zafaaf al-dirami), Joan of Arc (Jan Dark), Hamlet's Conference (Mu'tamar Hamlet), Richard III, and Tartuffe (Tartuf). He has written the plays Here is Baghdad (Huna Baghdad) and Time of the Mill (Zamen al-Mat'hana), and the play adaptations Romeo and Juliet in Baghdad (Roemo wa Juliet fi Baghdad) and Forget Herostratus! (Insu Herostrat). His directorial credits include The Boy Mahran (Al-fata Mahran) and Cannibals (Akilat Luhoom al-Basher). All of the above have been staged in Baghdad, and Romeo and Juliet in Baghdad received a production in Stratford, England, as well, at the World Shakespeare Festival in 2012.

Abdul Razaq al Rubai was born in Baghdad in 1961 and received his B.A. in Arabic Language from Baghdad University. He has served as an editor for many cultural and literary magazines, and he is a well-known poet whose verse has been anthologized in numerous volumes, including A Tribute to Her Laughter (Fi al-Thanaa ala Dhihkataha; Muscat, 2015), Speicher's Birds (Tiyour Speicher; Baghdad, 2014), and Nostalgia Diary (Yaoumiyat al-Hanin; Muscat, 2012). His plays include: A Strange Bird on Our Roof (Alla Sathuna Tair Ghraib), published in Muscat in 2013; Hell's Evangelists (Umraa al-Jahim), produced in Auckland in 2007; and Tramps Catching Stars (al-Sa'alik Yastadhoon al-Nijoom) and Planets of the Personal System (Kawakib al-Majmua al-Shakhsiya), both produced in Cairo in 2004. He currently resides in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman, and works at the Studies and Research Centre, Oman Establishment for Press Publication and Advertising.

Ali Abdel-Nabi Al-Zaidi was born in Nasiriya in 1965, and graduated from the Teacher's Institute of that city in 1987. His play collections include The Eighth Day of the Week (Thamin Ayam al-Usbu'; 2000), The Return of the Man Who Has Not been Absent (Awda al-Rajul allthi lam Yaghib; 2005), A Show in Arabic (Ardh bil Arabi; 2011), and The Divine Plays (Al-ilahiyat; 2014).

Rasha Fadhil is an award-winning short-story writer, novelist, playwright, and journalist. She was born in Basra in 1975 and spent her childhood there, attended college and lived for a time in Tikrit, and currently resides in Lebanon. She holds a B.A. in English from the University of Tikrit and was awarded a certificate in International Journalism and Media Studies from the Institute of Arab Strategy in Beirut in 2008. She has participated in numerous conferences, conventions, and literary and cultural events inside and outside of Iraq. Five of her books, consisting of collections of short stories, poetry, and criticism, have been published in Cairo and Syria. She is a member of the Federation of Writers in Iraq, the Advisory Board of the Palace of Culture and Arts in Salah al-Din, and the International PEN Club in Berlin. She has worked for the Red Crescent and the Red Cross in Iraq at the Department of Prisoners and Detainees as well as in health education addressing AIDS prevention. She was among the creative writers honored by the Iraqi Ministry of Culture in 2010 and has received several international awards in playwriting and short fiction. Her plays have been staged in Oman, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, and Iraq.