Nadia wants to remain in the house she grew up in. For her sister, Reem, it is filled with painful memories. Are their differences over the future of the house irreconcilable?

The House, by Lebanese writer Arzé Khodr, is taken from Plays from the Arab World, a collection of five extraordinary plays exploring and reflecting contemporary life across the Near East and North Africa, now available as individual ebooks.

The full collection also includes:

Withdrawal by Mohammad Al Attar (Syria) 603 by Imad Farajin (Palestine)Egyptian Products by Laila Soliman (Egypt)Damage by Kamal Khalladi (Morocco)

In 2007 the Royal Court Theatre’s International Department and the British Council embarked on an ambitious project working with twenty-one writers from across the Near East and North Africa. Seven of the resultant plays received rehearsed readings at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in 2008. Plays from the Arab World, introduced by Laila Hourani of the British Council, collects five of these unique new voices, each posing different but equally urgent questions.

Khalid Laith

Book translations