We have been working with the Guthrie Theater for the past several months on the upcoming production of Noura. The new play centered around Noura, a newly minted U.S. citizen, is a poignant exploration of motherhood, marriage and identity in modern America. Noura is the newest play by Heather Raffo, a Lucille Lortel Award-winning Iraqi American playwright and actress.

Our partnership focuses on themes of cultural and gender identity, belonging and the complicated nature of home. Through our post-play discussions for Noura, we will celebrate the lived experiences of Iraqi women in our Twin Cities community and explore how culture and gender shape the play.

Hawra Alnabi is an Iraqi American who was born in the village of Al-Fahood in southern Iraq. In 1991, her family joined the uprising against Saddam Hussein and was forced to flee for safety. After living at a refugee camp in northern Saudi Arabia with 30,000 other families for five years, her family came to the U.S. in 1996 when Alnabi was 8 years old. On April 7, 2003, two days before the collapse of Saddam Hussein’s regime, she became a U.S. citizen. Alnabi completed her B.A. in Human Resource Management and A.A.S. in Financial Management in 2012. She has worked in education and with nonprofit organizations, and she currently homeschools her 11-year-old son.