Layalina, Goodman Theatre, Photography by Liz Lauren
Plays
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In 2003, newly-wed Layal and her family prepare to immigrate from Baghdad, Iraq, to a Chicago suburb. Seventeen years later, Layal’s life looks unimaginably different from what she had envisioned two decades prior, as she and her siblings explore queerness, face their grief, and discover what it takes to make home in a new place. Layalina examines how families fall apart—and find each other again—amidst turbulent global and social change.
In the year 2320, the old city of Chicago is now a sparse desert and the only living organism left is a singular species of cactus. The Census Task Force, operated by the Census Bureau, has stationed three scientists on the field to collect information on the city’s history and former inhabitants. Confronted by the Bureau’s shadowy motives, Agent Ibrahim, Agent Layk and Agent Ru must find hope together or face the unrelenting climate alone.
ABOUT
Yousif is an Iraqi-born, Assyrian-American playwright based in Los Angeles.
Yousif’s first play, Layalina, received its world premiere at Goodman Theatre in March, 2023. Layalina was developed at Goodman Theatre (Future Labs Festival, New Stages Festival) and National Queer Theatre (Criminal Queerness Festival).
Yousif’s second play, Dunya, was commissioned by Goodman Theatre and received an internal reading for artistic staff in August 2024.
Some of Yousif’s regional acting credits include Goodman Theatre (Yasmina’s Necklace and The Winter’s Tale), Golden Thread Productions (Drowning in Cairo), Atlantic Theatre Company (For the Right Reasons), Steppenwolf Theatre Company (Guards at the Taj), Chicago Shakespeare Theatre (Mary Stuart), Court Theatre (The Hard Problem), Milwaukee Repertory Theatre (A Christmas Carol and Dreamgirls) and Illinois Shakespeare Festival (The Magical Mind of Billy Shakespeare, Macbeth, Failure: A Love Story and A Comedy of Errors). Yousif received a BFA in Acting from the Arts University of Bournemouth, England.
Contact
Literary Representation
Gersh Agency
Skyler Gray
sgray@gersh.com
Talent Representation
Stewart Talent Chicago
The Wrigley Building
400 N. Michigan Ave. STE. 700, Chicago, IL 60611
Phone: 312.943.3131