Dear friends,

70 countries around the world criminalize or censor LGBTQ communities and queer art. Three years ago, National Queer Theater set out to provide a platform for queer artists facing censorship in their home countries through the Criminal Queerness Festival, named by playwright and NQT New Visions Fellow Nick Hadikwa Mwaluko. We’ve presented this festival indoors, online, and outdoors to thousands around the world, and we are so happy to be with you today in beautiful NYC as the city reopens. The featured playwrights this year: Victor I. Cazares, Dima Mikhayel Matta, and Martin Yousif Zebari are revolutionary artists, shaping our culture and breaking boundaries in politics and performance. It’s a privilege to share a stage with them. 

As we celebrate Pride, we hope you take the time to reflect on how pride started as a protest not far from here in the West Village, and how we can build a truly global queer liberation movement. All of us have a role to play, on stage or in the streets.

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Enjoy the show,

Adam Odsess-Rubin and Adam A. Elsayigh

Co-Producers, Criminal Queerness Festival