• Age: 15 to 18
• Grade: 10 to 12

These two powerful plays by Ahmad Meree examine the effects of war and the refugee experience. Suitcase considers the lives of refugees and the spaces they inhabit. The play urges the audience to reassess the significance of their possessions, the relationships they value, and all of the things they have left behind. Adrenaline follows Jaber, a refugee getting ready to celebrate his first New Year's Eve in Canada after leaving his war-torn home in Syria. Using objects he has around the house, Jaber unpacks memories of war, and tries to understand the price he has had to pay for his safety in Canada.

Ahmad Meree is an actor and playwright. He was born in Aleppo, Syria, and graduated from the Higher Institute of Theatre Arts in Cairo. He has performed in Syria, winning the Best Actor Award in the Central Theatre Festival in Syria (2008). In Egypt, he directed Ionesco's The Lesson and won Best Director Award for directing Chekhov's The Bear at Cairo's Festival of International Theatre (2013). Ahmad continued his journey as a refugee when he moved to Canada in 2016. He now lives in Kitchener, Ontario, where he works with MT Space as artistic associate, facilitator, and co-director of their Young Company. Ahmad has written three plays, Underground (2014), which won Best Original Script in a university competition, Adrenaline (2017) which he toured to the Ryga Festival in Summerland, BC and Summerworks Performance Festival in Toronto, and Suitcase (2019).

Ahmad Meree's profile page

Suitcase/Adrenaline is a devastating double bill...Ahmad Meree's plays explore immigrant life with searing honesty...unflinching yet heartfelt. (NOW Magazine)