Kurdish Nationalism On Stage: Performance, Politics and Resistance in Iraq

Since its emergence in the 1920s, Iraqi-Kurdish theatre was used as a tool of national identity building and modernisation.

It promoted literacy, education and women's rights and became one of the most visible forms of Kurdish cultural nationalism by exploring folklore, myths, legends and local history and by celebrating heroes of the past.

Even under strict censorship during the Baath rule, Kurdish theatre continued to promote Kurdish nationalism and resistance through the use of Kurdish folk culture and literature.

This book is based on dramatic texts from the period, interviews with Kurdish theatre artists, Kurdish theatre histories, historical documents and journalistic accounts.