The Return
by Hanna Eady and Edward Mast
directed by Hanna Eady
presented in partnership with Art2Action, Inc.
Two people meeting in an auto-body shop in the mid-sized city Herzliya. They might or might not have known each other in the past. One of them is Palestinian, one of them is Israeli Jewish, and by the end of the play, both of their lives will be changed forever by the realities that surround them.
August 7, 2025 - August 24, 2025
The Garret, on the fifth floor of the A.C.T.'s Toni Rembe Theater
415 Geary Street, San Francisco, CA
Pre-sale tickets are $20 for previews and $30-$130 for general admission.
The Return was part of New Threads Staged Reading Series in 2024.
“…a taut and provocative two-character play—which vividly evokes the political tension between the Israeli state and its Palestinian citizens. More than a play to be touched and troubled by. It’s a play to get in the gut.” – John Stoltenberg, DC Theater Arts
“The Return is as much about the Israeli—Palestinian conflict as it is about the repercussions a decades-long occupation can have on the lives of everyday people.” – South Seattle Emerald
partner
Art2Action creates, develops, produces, and presents original theatre, interdisciplinary performances, artistic interventions, and progressive cultural organizing. We support Black, Indigenous, artists of color, women and queer or trans-identified artists, artists living with disabilities, and creative allies in the creation of contemporary work. We are dedicated to cultural equity and aesthetic innovation, artistic quality and community impact.
Hanna Eady and Edward Mast
playwrights
Hanna Eady and Edward Mast
Hanna Eady and Edward Mast have been writing plays together since they met in Seattle in 1995. Hanna Eady grew up as a Palestinian in Northern Israel and had come to Seattle years earlier for graduate school in directing. Edward Mast was returning home from his first of many trips to the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Their first collaboration was Sahmatah, a play drawn from testimonies by residents of one of the Palestinian villages destroyed during the founding of Israel in 1948. Sahmatah premiered in 1996 in Seattle, and then premiered in Arabic in 1998 on the original site of the village itself inside what is now Israel. Other plays they have written together include Loved Ones: Families of the Incarcerated, Letters from Palestine in the Time of the Virus, The Love Tunnel: A Comedy of Occupation, and The Mulberry Tree, which recently premiered in New York.
• • •
Supporters and Partners
Golden Thread would like to acknowledge the support of Art2Action, Inc., The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and The Zellerbach Family Foundation.
This production is part of a multi-year partnership between Art2Action, Inc. and Golden Thread Productions uplifting Palestinian voices and artists. We are committed to Protecting Dissent, supporting voices that have been historically silenced, and speaking out against genocide, apartheid, and occupation in all forms.
We’re proud to collaborate with four important social justice organizations that are actively advocating for Palestinian liberation and justice: AROC: Arab Resource and Organizing Center, Jewish Voice for Peace - Bay Area, MECA: Middle East Children’s Alliance, and NorCal Sabeel.