Homecoming & Before I Die – Mada Theatre

work created on the land / in the territory of:
Traditional lands of the Attawandaron, Anishinaabeg, and Haudenosaunee – colonially known as Kitchener, ON

Land Acknowledgement

To acknowledge is to give due, is to be in the moment guided by the thread of resistance that the ancestors handed to continue weaving the route they walked on. Acknowledgement is to be in action, is to raise a voice, and is to build bridges of eye-opening knowledge and collective resistance, Madạ Theatre acknowledges that we are living and benefiting from the traditional territory of the Ạttawandaron, Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee, the original people and the owners of this land where we are standing now.

With acknowledgement comes a responsibility: while honoring who passed fighting for their land, we join efforts with the Indigenous communities, the Palestinians, the Sudanese, the Congolese, and all fighting the same fight against different shapes of colonial powers, land theft, and genocidal regimes. Let’s join hands in turning acknowledgements into acts of collective resistance.

About the Company – Mada Theatre

Mada is a local theatre company that was founded by Nada Humsi and Majdi Bou-Matar. Nada incorporated the previous Mada Collective as a not-for-profit company to keep the memory and the legacy of Majdi Bou-Matar alive.

Mada is registered as a theatre for Arts and Growth, which represents growth of artistic productions, a tree into fruits, a baby into an adult, an egg to a chick, linking the authentic arts with nature. Mada is a combination of Majdi and Nada’s names (Ma-da) and means ‘Horizon’ in Arabic.

About the Shows

Homecoming

Performed by Hiyam Mahrat & Ameya Kale
Directed by Nada Humsi

Through a dynamic conversation between two immigrants – a landlord and a tenant – Homecoming focuses on the struggles encountered when trying to secure a house in a new country. At its core, Homecoming explores the notions of ‘home’ and ‘belonging’. Playing on multiple denotations of what home means, the piece engages parallel and intersecting realities to explore the complexities and challenges of being on, in and with a land, and colonial/post-colonial themes that emerge within these complexities. The play is an attempt to understand the perspectives of both tenants and landlords, portraying their struggles, motivations, and vulnerabilities.

Before I Die

Written and performed by Nada Humsi
Directed and edited by Dr. Hazim Kamaledin

Nada Humsi – who immigrated to Canada a quarter of a century ago – is growing older and facing immense obstacles. She struggled, succeeded and failed. Especially when the genre is theatre, where there is no money, fame, red carpets or mention in the media. Hence, the theater artist becomes a little prophet with a little prophecy to fight for.

And every step she takes to pursue her artistic career is met with a diplomatic tone:

“You are passé, slow, no longer sexy, no longer an innovator, no longer fit—you’re out of life.”

A reflection on Nada’s personal and artistic life celebrating half a century of her theatrical practice parallel to the lives of artists from different eras and genres, transcending the individual and merging with the collective.

Homecoming – Show Credits

Performers – Hiyam Mahrat & Ameya Kale
Director – Nada Humsi
Script Developer – Prashant Das
Musician – Max Lindsay
Lighting Designer – Cameron Slipp
Stage Manager – Lindsay McDonald

Special Thanks

Homecoming is generously supported by Waterloo Region Community Foundation.

Before I Die – Show Credits

Playwright & Performer – Nada Humsi
Director & Editor – Dr. Hazim Kamaledin
Dramaturge – Paddy Gillard-Bentley
Set & Video Designer – Gary Kirkham
Music & Soundscape – Nuha Yousuf
Lighting Designer – Cameron Slipp
Stage Manager – Lindsay McDonald
Tailor – Helen Basson

Special Thanks

Before I Die is generously supported by Canada Council of the Arts.

Mada Theatre is grateful to MT Space, ArabyOn, and the community for their continuous unwavering support of these projects.

Homecoming – Bios

Performer – Hiyam Mahrat

Hiyam Mahrat is a Syrian Canadian artist, born and raised in the United Arab Emirates. Hiyam came to Canada in 2018 and studied Performing Arts at Sheridan College. Besides her passion and work in the administrative field, she is a growing artist in theatre, film, and music. Through her work, she focuses on issues of belonging, identity diffusion, and cultural erosion. Hiyam is the recipient of the Waterloo Region Emerging Artist Award 2023 and is currently working as the General Manager at MT Space in Waterloo.

Director – Nada Humsi

Nada Humsi, originally from Syria. graduated from Damascus University with a Bachelors of Arts degree. She’s gained several international awards for her acting (from Syria, Tunisia, Japan, India, Jordan and Bahrain).

She immigrated to Canada in 1999 and established Salameh Theatre where she trained and educated a group of youths about theatre and acting. In 2008, Nada moved to Kitchener to become an essential artistic associate at MT Space (The Multicultural Theatre) with Majdi Bou-Matar, the Artistic Director.

In 2016, Nada and Majdi established Mada collective (the name is taken from Majdi and Nada names), where they did The Bell, Sultan Basha and then Ahmad Meree performed three of his plays under Mada as an encouragement for Mada.

In 2022, Majdi passed away, Nada registered Mada as a not for profit and started to work on new projects.

Nada sat as a jury member in several theatre festivals, and has sat on several theatre panels. Nada writes, teaches acting and Mime.

Nada is also a farmer who plants summer vegetables and raises chicken, ducks and sheep.

Musician – Max Lindsay

Max Lindsay is a Kitchener-Waterloo based percussionist and educator who was born and raised in Oshawa, Ontario. A graduate of WLU with an Honours BMus in percussion performance; Max has worked with many arts organizations such as Open Ears, and NUMUS, also worked with symphonic ensembles around Ontario such as Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Orchestra, Windsor Symphony, and Niagara Symphony. His interest in collaborative multidisciplinary art projects stemmed from working on the large-scale community-based productions of R. Murray Schafer such as his outdoor opera The Spirit Garden, and in the revival of his opus Apocolypsis.

Stage Manager – Lindsay McDonald

Lindsay McDonald is a Toronto-based emerging theatre practitioner and a 2020 graduate of The University of Waterloo’s Arts and Business program majoring in Theatre and Performance. She specializes in Stage Management and Technical Production. Recent credits include: Assistant Stage Manager on The Hobbit (Canadian Children’s Opera Company, 2024), Apprentice Stage Manager on Dialogues of the Carmelites (Royal Conservatory of Music, 2024), Apprentice Stage Manager on La Boheme (Canadian Opera Company, 2023), Stage Manager on Corporate Finch (Port Albert Productions, Toronto Fringe 2023), Apprentice Stage Manager on The Nightingale of 1000 Songs (Canadian Children’s Opera Company, 2023), Assistant Stage Manager on Kings Playlist (Culchaworks Arts Collective, 2023), Production Assistant on The Magic Flute, The Flying Dutchman and The Marriage of Figaro (Canadian Opera Company, 2022- 2023).

Performer – Ameya Kale

Ameya Kale is a recent immigrant and community theatre artist with a passion for exploring the experiences of marginalized communities, particularly immigrants. He is actively engaged in the community theatre in Kitchener and has performed in a play and collaborated with other artists to examine the immigrant experience. His goal is to give voice to underrepresented stories and highlight the systemic barriers faced by marginalized communities. Ameya’s artistic work is deeply influenced by his cultural background and his personal experiences. He has a strong interest in regional theatre and has worked with theatre groups in India, focusing on community-based performances. His experiences in India have shaped his artistic perspective and have given him a unique understanding of the importance of representation and inclusivity in the arts.

Script Developer – Prashant Das

Prashant Das discovered his passion for theater years ago, leading him to participate in numerous productions in various capacities. Some of his most notable roles include Jean Tarrou in an adaptation of Camus’ The Plague and, more recently, Victor in KWLT’s rendition of Zastrozzi. When not immersed in work, he dreams of riding a motorcycle into the sunset along the road less traveled, with a GPS in hand for good measure.

Lighting Designer – Cameron Slipp

Cameron Slipp is a stage manager, production manager, and composer based in Kitchener, ON. Stage Manager: Suitcase, The Bell, I Don’t Know, The Last 15 Seconds. Production Manager: Inter Arts Matrix COVOX, The Elora Festival ‘22, Tottering Biped, IMPACT ’23. Composer/Arranger: 20 Grains of Rice, Here/There: a delicate balance, DiSCoVeR. Co-technical director at The Registry Theatre in Kitchener. Account executive at Sherwood Systems.

Before I Die – Bios

Playwright & Performer – Nada Humsi

In 2022, Majdi passed away, Nada registered Mada as a not for profit and started to work on new projects.

Nada sat as a jury member in several theatre festivals, and has sat on several theatre panels. Nada writes, teaches acting and Mime.

Nada is also a farmer who plants summer vegetables and raises chicken, ducks and sheep.

Dramatruge – Paddy Gillard-Bentley

Paddy Gillard-Bentley is a playwright, director, producer – the founding Artistic Director of Flush Ink Productions, established in 2008, the Director of Communications for Neruda Arts and a past president of The International Centre for Women Playwrights (ICWP) and a member of The Playwrights Guild of Canada. Paddy has had over 100 productions of her plays performed in the UK, Ireland, Australia, USA, France and Canada. Titles include; Shaking the Dew from the Lilies, Quantum Entanglement, Sanguine Sonata, Shaking the Trees, Haunting the Penumbra and A Rose Upon the Blood which toured Ireland in 2016. Several of her plays have been published, and four of her plays, have been published, and she’s just finished her first book, The Jazz Musician’s Daughter.

Music & Soundscape – Nada Yousuf

Nuha Yousuf is a Waterloo-based artist pursuing a Master of Music in Collaboration, Curation, and Creative Performance at Wilfrid Laurier University. With a background in classical voice, musical theatre, improvisation, and interdisciplinary creation, she is passionate about making music inclusive and accessible to all.

Recent highlights include performing Fredrika Armfeldt in A Little Night Music (Opera Nuova), Little Red Riding Hood in Into the Woods (Opera Laurier) and winning the NUMUS 2025 Emerging Curator Competition. She has also co-created and sung the role of “Entropy” in the Laurier Improvisation Convergence Ensemble’s devised space opera of the same name. Nuha is dedicated to using music to foster connection, amplify voices, and inspire change.”

Stage Manager – Lindsay McDonald

Director & Editor – Dr. Hazim Kamaledin

Dr. Hazim Kamaledin (1954) fled Iraq in the late 1970s. Even before the age of 22, he was threatened, arrested and tortured because he refused to make theatre in the service of the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. He adapted and directed the play ‘The King is the King’, a satirical play about the dictator. After many wanderings, via Syria, Turkey, Bulgaria, Lebanon and Greece, he finally ended up in Belgium. Here he became artistic director of the theatre group Woestijn ’93 and then tg Cactusbloem, for which he also wrote texts. He published his first Dutch-language novel ‘Oraal’ with Beefcake Publishing (2011). With the plays ‘The Babylonian Mona Lisa’, ‘Oedipus’ and ‘Black Spring’ he went on an international tour. In 2014, Hazim was named the best Arab playwright of the year. In 2016 he was longlisted for the Arab Booker Prize. His novel ‘Desertified Waters’ (2015) is one of the sixteen books longlisted for the ninth edition of the International Prize for Arabic Fiction. Hazim writes in Arabic and Dutch. Arabic titles include ‘Tomb of Silence’ (fiction, 1993), ‘Farewell Holy Family’ (novel, 2004), ‘The Tomb of the Lady’ (play, 2010) and ‘Cabaret’ (novel, 2014). In addition, he has published several books in the management of Cactusbloem, such as ‘El Addade’ (play, 2003), ‘Silk’ (poetry, 2007), ‘Oud God’ (poetry, 2008) and ‘Een pracht dadel’ (prose, 2008).

Hazim Kamaledin was involved in ZebrART, the artists’ branch of Vluchtelingenwerk Vlaanderen. He remained a member of the board of directors until March 2014, when the association was put on hold due to lack of funds.

Since 2009, Hazim has also been working abroad as a director, actor trainer and playwriting trainer. Recently, for example, he was at the Babylon Festival in Babylon, Iraq (2022), the Popular theater in Ramallah, Palestine, (2019) and Middle East University Study in Beijing, China (2019).

Set & Video Designer – Gary Kirkham

Gary Kirkham has been a theatre artist for over 40 years. He has also worked as an instillation artist for the last 10 years.

His art installations include Transformed Though Touch (Idea Exchange), Sand Pendulum (IMPACT 23) Victoria w/Krzysztof Wodizcko (CAFKA) and Grand Faux Falls (UnSilent Night). He has created video designs for Numus, Canadian Arab Theatre, Cactusbloem (Belgium), Night Shift, and Greenlight Arts. Gary has authored several plays including Falling: A Wake, Queen Milli of Galt, Pearl Gidley, and Rage Against Violence.

He’s collaborated with MT Space on several shows including AMAL, Body 13, and The Last 15 Seconds. His scripts have been translated into French, Italian and Arabic and have been produced by over 100 theatre companies internationally. He has been artist in residence at Blyth Festival, Idea Exchange and Cambridge Centre for the Arts.