MY ENGLISH PERSIAN KITCHEN
NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE | FROM EDINBURGH FRINGE FESTIVAL
By HANNAH KHALIL
From a story by ATOOSA SEPEHR
Directed by CHRIS WHITE
A Solas Nua Production in association with Mosaic Theater Company
Generously supported by Culture Ireland
Hailed as a “thoroughly flavorful feast of a play” by The Guardian, My English Persian Kitchen chronicles one woman's resettlement in England and then in Belfast after fleeing an abusive husband and her home country of Iran. Longing for her homeland, she turns to her mother’s recipes for solace and strength as she rebuilds both her life and her spirit. This one woman play features the live cooking of traditional Persian ash-e-reshteh (noodle soup) onstage to bring audiences together through the communal nature of food and the joy of finding home.
“COMFORT THEATRE FOR THE COLD AUTUMN SEASON” —THE INDIEPENDENT
When: November 12 – December 13, 2026, various showtimes | Open captioning on December 5 and 6
Where: Atlas Performing Arts Center (1333 H St. NE, Washington, DC)
Tickets: Available here
- Previews: Thursday & Friday $42 | Saturday & Sunday $56
- Regular Performances: Thursday & Friday $53 | Saturday & Sunday $70
- Discounts: In the spirit of welcome, Mosaic is proud to remove financial barriers to our work via senior, student, military, and need-based discounts, plus a limited number of rush tickets for every show. See the ticket site for more information.
Runtime: Approx. 70 minutes
Hannah Khalil is an Irish-Palestinian playwright. She was writer in residence at the Globe 2022. In December 2022 her play Hakawatis played at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, while her adaptation of Hans Christian Anderson's The Fir Tree returned to the main stage at the Globe making Hannah the first writer other than Shakespeare to have had her work on in both spaces at the Globe simultaneously. Further work at the Globe includes an adaptation of Shakespeare and Fletcher's Henry VIII while A Museum in Baghdad played at the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2019/20 making Hannah the first woman of Arab heritage to have a main stage play at the company. Hannah was also a Creative Fellow of the Samuel Beckett Archive for 2021/2022 and was named Heimbold Chair of Irish Studies at Villanova University, Spring 2021. She was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2022.
Chris White is a freelance theatre director and practitioner. He is an Associate Practitioner and Director for Royal Shakespeare Company's Creative Learning and Engagement and co-ran the young writer's programme at Soho Theatre. My English Persian Kitchen ran at the Traverse Theatre and Soho Theatre in 2004 in sell out runs to critical and audience acclaim and returned for a British and Irish tour in 2025. Recent directing includes Chippy by Henry Darke in a Cornish tour (Spring 2024), co-writing and directing Wood of Words a new play from the words of Shakespeare at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre RSC (2023), The Lighthouse Keepers Son with Maureen Beattie at the Samuel Beckett Research Centre, Reading University, and Nothing in a Butterfly by Ric Renton at Omnibus.
Dina Soltan (Actor; she/her) is thrilled to make her Solas Nua debut, in My English Persian Kitchen in partnership with Mosaic Theater Company. Previous credits include: Dodi & Diana, Unseen, Keffiyeh/Made in China and The Vagrant Trilogy at Mosaic Theater Company, Constellations at Constellations Theatre Company; Ada and the Engine at Avant Bard Theatre; Dhana and The Rosebuds at Ally Theatre Company; Or, and Soldier Poet at Theatre Prometheus; Reykjavik, and Neverwhere at Rorschach Theatre; Woman of No Importance at Scena Theatre; The Blind (performed as part of the DC Fringe Festival) at Wheel Theatre Company; The Games Afoot (Best Featured Actress in a play – DC Metro Theatre Art Awards) at McLean Community Players. @dinastheory dinasoltan.squarespace.com
