Theater News

Off-Broadway’s Culture Project to Present Anna Khaja’s Acclaimed Shaheed: The Dream and Death of Benazir Bhutto

The production explores the relationship between Pakistan and the United States.

Anna Khaja in <i>Shaheed: The Dream and Death of Benazir Bhutto</i>
Anna Khaja in Shaheed: The Dream and Death of Benazir Bhutto
(© Maia Rosenfeld)

Culture Project‘s Women Center Stage will present Anna Khaja’s acclaimed one-woman show, Shaheed: The Dream and Death of Benazir Bhutto, beginning Friday, March 8, with an opening set for Monday, March 11. The drama will run at the Culture Project’s home, 45 Bleecker Street, under the direction of Heather de Michele (American Girl Theatre).

Performed by Khaja, Shaheed explores Pakistan’s relationship with the United States, religious freedom, and the struggle to reclaim a nation following the assassination of Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. The work premiered in the 2010 New York International Fringe Festival and was subsequently mounted at the Women Center Stage 2012 Festival. In 2011, Khaja received an Ovation Award for Lead Actress in a Play for her performance. Her other stage credits include Stuff Happens and Palace of the End, with television appearances including True Blood, Bent, Weeds, and the upcoming season of The Newsroom.

Women Center Stage is an initiative by Culture Project to support and promote the work of female artists. Their past presentations have included early versions of Heather Raffo’s Nine Parts of Desire, Sarah Jones’ Tony Award-winning bridge and tunnel, and Lynn Redgrave’s Nightingale. Founded in 1996, Culture Project addresses human rights issues by shining a spotlight on injustice, and has premiered works including The Exonerated, Betrayed, In Conflict, and Tings Dey Happen, among many others.

Click here for more information and tickets to Shaheed: The Dream and Death of Benazir Bhutto.

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