Hannah Khalil

Khalil was born to an Irish mother and a Palestinian father from Yasuf and grew up in Dubai and Jordan.^[1] She would also spend summers in Ireland. At age 10, Khalil was sent to boarding school in England. Upon her parents' divorce when she was a teenager, her mother moved to Pimlico, London.^[2][3]

Khalil graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in English and Drama from St Mary's University, Twickenham.^[4]

Khalil self-produced the play Plan D, which premiered at the Tristan Bates Theatre in 2010. The play portrays a Palestinian family's experience during the Nakba.^[5] Plan D was shortlisted for the Meyer-Whitworth Award.^[6] Her other early work included Ring, Leaving Home, The Unofficial Guide and Bitterenders.^[7]

In 2016, Khalil premiered Scenes from 68* Years at the Arcola Theatre, marking 68 years since the Nakba. Scenes from 68* Years was shortlisted for the James Tait Black Memorial Prize.^[8] This project evolved into Scenes from 71* Years in 2019 and Trouf: 75 Years in 2023.^[9][10]

This was followed by The Scar Test, containing verbatim accounts of Yarl's Wood detention centre, in 2017 at the Soho Theatre^[11][12] and A Museum in Baghdad, about Gertrude Bell, produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2019.^[13] She also contributed Metaverse to the National Theatre of Scotland science fiction collection Interference.^[14]

In 2021 as a visiting writer-in-residence, Khalil was appointed Charles A Heimbold Jr Chair of Irish Studies at Villanova University.^[15] Maxine Peake directed a charity performance of Khalil's Bitterenders at the Arcola Theatre.^[16][17]

Khalil was the 2022 Writer-in-Residence at the Globe Theatre. For the Globe, she adapted Hans Christian Andersen's The Fir Tree for stage, which received critical acclaim,^[18][19] as well as Shakespeare and Fletcher's Henry VIII, titled The Life of King Henry VIII: All is True.^[20] She ended the year with Hakawatis: Women of the Arabian Nights at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse. Also in 2022, Khalil was inducted as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.^[21]

Next came Khalil's play My English Persian Kitchen, based on the true story of Iranian-born food writer and nutritionist Atoosa Sepehr and starring Isabella Nefar.^[22] The play premiered at the 2024 Edinburgh Fringe Festival^[23][24] and had a London run before embarking on a UK tour.^[25] Khalil also adapted Treasure Island, staged at the Orange Tree Theatre.^[26]

Khalil is married to theatre director Chris White.^[4]

• Plan D
• Bitterenders
• Scenes from 68* Years
  • Scenes from 71* Years
  • Trouf: 75 Years
  • Scenes from 77* Years
• The Scar Test
• Interference – Metaverse
• A Museum in Baghdad
• The Censor or How to Put on a Political Play without getting fined or arrested
• The Fir Tree
• The Life of King Henry VIII: All is True
• Hakawatis: Women of the Arabian Nights
• My English Persian Kitchen
• Treasure Island