A poetic, heartbreaking story of intergenerational queer history in Lebanon, The Green Line weaves together civil war Beirut with a contemporary nightclub, following one family’s journey to discover their past.

In the present day, Rami, a twentysomething queer Lebanese Canadian, has returned to the Lebanese mountains to bury his father. To cope with the weight of his grief, Rami, carrying a necklace in the shape of a phoenix left to him by his father, finds himself in a queer Beirut nightclub, where he catches the attention of a powerful drag queen named Fifi, who just so happens to be dressed as a phoenix.

In 1978, in the midst of the Lebanese Civil War, Naseeb is attempting to get himself and his sister Mona out of Beirut and into the safety of the mountains. Mona, however, is secretly in love with her classmate, a woman named Yara, and refuses to leave the city. When Naseeb becomes swept up with the descending political culture of the war around him, he creates a rift between himself and Mona greater than the line that divides the country itself.

Makram Ayache's profile page

Hiba Sleiman is an actor, playwright, and scriptwriter who has worked internationally with renowned stage and film directors in Lebanon, Canada, and the United States, including Mona Mansour, Lina Abyad, Sahar Assaf, and Philippe Aractingi, among others. Hiba holds a double BA in Communication Arts and Psychology as well as an MA in Drama Therapy. Currently based in Montreal, Hiba translates works from French and English to Arabic and writes for the stage and screen, as well as poetry in both English and Arabic. Her eagerness to share her impassioned native language compels her to continuously find ways to create relevant and representational narratives through multiple languages. She wrote and created several short films and is currently developing her first full-length play.

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Leila BalaKos hails as a rising fiery phoenix in the Toronto and North American drag scene. Her name comes from the great Middle Eastern romantic tragedy of Leila and Kays. An actress, slam poet, flirty pop diva, and conceptual camp comedy queen, her credits include hosting Maziqa Party and performing for El Convento Rico, Ya TabTab Night, Habibi Nights, Hoebibi, Muslim PrideTO, Pride Toronto, and several other parties and venues. She also starred in her short plays Hummus Rouge and Rebirth of Leila and Kays, the latter as part of Soulpepper’s Queer Cab. Outside of drag, they also are an actor, appearing in shows such as the wonderful The Green Line. You can follow Leila’s work on Instagram @LeilaBalaKos.

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Shams Seif is an artist-academic, writer, and part-time nanny. They are a PhD student in Gender, Feminist, and Women’s Studies and a Teaching Assistant at York University. Their research looks at transgenerational healing, as well as transgenerational trauma, from a research-creation autoethnographic standpoint. Shams values self-reflection, authenticity, and open communication. They are passionate about creating a neurodiversity-affirming learning environment and world. Lastly, they believe in standing in solidarity with marginalized communities with words, hearts, and most importantly, actions.

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Sinin Nakhle is a cartoon artist, storyteller, and researcher whose work lies at the intersection of bodies, digital platforms, and protest movements. His stories around queer and trans embodiment have been featured on Netflix and in literary outlets, including the peer-reviewed academic journal Feminist Formations and the Flemish literary magazine, nY. His autobiographical writings and illustrated poems have also been published in volumes alongside contributions by Fred Moten and Jasbir Puar. In 2018, Sinin created Beirut By Dyke, a webcomic series featuring short stories about being queer in Beirut. His multimedia page, which tackles intersectional topics around gender, sexuality, and mental health, came to be taught as a case study of visual ethnography at the American University of Beirut, Leiden University, SOAS University of London, the University of Chicago, and the University of Pennsylvania. Currently, Sinin is a lecturer of Global Digital Cultures at the University of Amsterdam, where he is also pursuing his NWO-funded Ph.D. on embodiment and the aesthetic activist practices of the 2019 protest movement in Lebanon.

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• Short-listed, Governor General's Literary Awards
• Winner, Betty Mitchell Award for Outstanding New Play

“An affecting, well-written piece by Edmonton playwright Makram Ayache . . . that travels to a surprisingly wide variety of places . . . a universal, first-class [play] more than worthy of your attention.”

Alan Kellogg, 12thnight

“Ayache’s dialogue is decidedly lyrical . . . There are some truly beautiful images not just in the monologues but in simple exchanges.”

Louis B. Hobson, Calgary Herald