Plays written by Zizi Majid:
THE REJECTS
RETURN TO FALL
ON THE VESSEL
HOW TO GILD AN EAGLE
THEY CAME IN THE NIGHT
Synopses:
The Rejects – The Rejects is about a group of friends in an Ivy League who don’t quite fit into the normcore idea of what a Muslim woman should be. When one of them is accused of a heinous act, they band together to fight injustices couched in institutionalized racism.
Return to Fall – A Syrian rock band’s passion for playing music is tested when civil war breaks out shortly after the Arab Spring descends on Syria. As the situation in Damascus descends into chaos, the four friends have to choose between their loyalties and soon discover that patriotism, freedom and peace have very different meanings for each of them. An intense, moving play about first loves and passionate community in times of uncertainty.
On the Vessel – Sofia, a Syrian woman who whilst on a makeshift iron vessel on the Mediterranean Sea, meets Sarah, a woman from South Sudan who’s similarly seeking a better life. Sofia confides her deepest wishes as she considers returning to her home in Syria and a future life with a partner of her own choosing. On the Vessel is a play written as an empathetic response to the global migration crisis.
How to Gild an Eagle – The Walker General Store and Inn has been in the Walker family for three generations and about to face foreclosure. Lana Usman, Pakistani-Muslim immigrant offers to buy over the store with certain conditions. Donna Walker accepts Lana’s offer despite her son Matt’s reservations. As the two families settle into their new circumstances, old wounds resurface. How To Gild An Eagle explores what it means to belong in America and what one must do to prove that one belongs.
They Came in the Night – After the sudden death of her mother, Zsa Zsa receives a visitor from Baghdad: an aunt, who served as an interpreter for the US military and has finally been allowed to immigrate to the U.S. A play about a family sifting through the debris of America’s fraught War in Iraq.
Biography:
Zizi Majid is a playwright whose plays advocate for a shared humanity. Recipient of the 2025 NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship as well as a Playwriting Fellowship with the Dramatists Guild Foundation, her work has been developed at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, Syracuse Stage and WP Theatre. She won the Pacific Rim Prize for Playwriting (Kumu Kahua Theatre/University of Hawaii Manoa); and has been named alternate for the Princeton Arts Fellowship, a finalist for the Blue Ink Playwriting Award; a thrice semi-finalist for the O’Neil National Playwrights Conference and a finalist for the Columbia@Roundabout New Play Reading Series. Plays include On the Vessel (formerly titled Milk), They Came in the Night, Return to Fall, The Rejects and How to Gild an Eagle. Zizi was formerly the artistic director of Teater Ekamatra (Singapore) garnering multiple awards during her tenure. Zizi received her MFA in Playwriting from Columbia University and teaches playwriting at Syracuse University and Hamilton College.