Thanks to funding from the Government of Newfoundland & Labrador’s Cultural Economic Development Program, PARC is proud to offer support to NL Members!
Three writers were recently provided the opportunity to participate in the Inaugural PARC NL Playwrights Getaway, hosted at Archangel Studios in St. Michael’s, NL. This getaway provides playwrights time to write, reflect, and develop a script in development in a supportive, nurturing environment outside their daily activities. Playwrights benefit from the one-on-one assistance of a professional dramaturge: PARC AD Santiago Guzmán.
‘Beauty Behind the Norms’ by Nicole Obiodiaka
Beauty Behind the Norms is an evocative drama set in West Africa, vividly portraying the clash between traditional cultural norms and the burgeoning desire for change. The play centres on Ada, a young woman who becomes a symbol of resistance and transformation in a society bound by strict expectations for women. Thrust into a polygamous marriage, Ada’s journey is marked by her struggle for self-determination against the backdrop of a community deeply rooted in customary practices. Her quest for education and personal freedom challenges the patriarchal norms, sparking a wider conversation about women’s roles and rights in a traditional society.
Nicole Obiodiaka is a dynamic business professional, playwright, and arts advocate dedicated to amplifying Black voices and stories. She is the founder of Centra Cultural Collective, an organization committed to supporting Black creatives and entrepreneurs through film, theatre, and community engagement.
‘Dead Folks’ by Abdullah Omar Saif & Nabila Qureshi
Count Drake, Countess Camilla, and their son Edmund are dying. They are an old bourgeoise vampire family that is growing weaker because of prolonged absence from drinking high-quality blood from living beings—blood of the nobility in particular. The changing landscape of today’s time has cornered them into drinking sub-standard blood of commoners, plebs, and rodents. This arrangement is putting them at great risk of losing their supernatural abilities. They must act fast — targeting the new elite class of ‘tech bros’ — or they will perish.
Abdullah Omar Saif is an arts enthusiast, an avid reader, and an aspiring writer in St. John’s. He enjoys observing the quiet acts of courage, friendship, and love that unfold in our ordinary daily interactions. Binja is his first play, inspired by stories from his childhood, the books he loved growing up, and fictional characters he creates and shares with his wife and co-playwright Nabila. His spirit animal is a frog, and he believes the greatest contribution to society is the creation of public libraries, which he considers his sanctuary.
Nabila Qureshi seeks artistic approaches that excavate critical explorations of the self and the world, to deliver global stories that invite raw conversations around identity, politics, and culture. Binja (2026, directed by Santiago Guzmán for Shakespeare by the Sea Festival) marked her first collaboration with her husband Abdullah Omar Saif, who joined her as a co-playwright. The fable takes its characters and audiences on an incredible quest to find their true leader. Nabila’s select theatre portfolio includes acting in, assistant directing, & co-writing NewfoundLanded (2024, directed by Santiago Guzmán for Todos Productions & White Rooster Theater), a verbatim theatre play that explores the stories of immigrants, refugees, and newcomers making Newfoundland and Labrador their home. Nabila has apprenticed as a dramaturg for playwright Thiviya Kana’s In Search of Mangoes (2025, Women’s Work Festival). She has also, since 2016, participated in several staged readings for the Women’s Work Festival & Persistence Theatre (St. John’s), and PARC (Atlantic).