Ahmad Meree Puts Citizenship on Trial in UNCIVILIZED at Theatre Passe Muraille
What does someone have to prove before a country considers them worthy of belonging? Ahmad Meree tackles that question in his new play, UNCIVILIZED. The world premiere runs October 13 to 24, 2026, at Toronto’s Theatre Passe Muraille.
The one-person production combines a camera, mixed media and Meree’s sharp sense of humour. It examines citizenship through questions of identity, belonging and the pressure to assimilate. At its centre sits an uncomfortable question: who gets to decide what “civilized” means?
UNCIVILIZED Turns the Immigration Process Into Theatre
Meree both writes and performs UNCIVILIZED, which draws from his own experiences. He arrived in Canada as a refugee from Aleppo, Syria, in 2016. Now, he turns the process of becoming a citizen into material for the stage.
The production transforms an interrogation room into a theatrical space before a live audience. Meree traces a journey from leaving home to becoming a refugee and eventually a citizen. Along the way, he questions what happens when belonging requires someone to continually prove themselves.
“What does it mean to be civilized? Who is civilized, and according to whom?”
Meree also asks audiences to consider the other side of that definition. Who receives the label “uncivilized,” and who gets the authority to apply it? UNCIVILIZED uses those questions to examine identity beyond paperwork and official classifications.
Ahmad Meree Returns to Theatre Passe Muraille
Toronto audiences may already know Meree through his acclaimed play Adrenaline. The production earned a 2020 Dora nomination for Outstanding Touring Production. It later toured internationally, including performances in Egypt, Syria and Sri Lanka.
Canadian presentations included the National Arts Centre, SummerWorks, UNO Fest and Theatre Passe Muraille. UNCIVILIZED brings Meree back to the Toronto theatre with a different chapter of the refugee experience. This time, his focus shifts from escaping danger toward navigating the bureaucracy that follows.
Meree trained at the Higher Institute of Theatre Arts in Cairo before coming to Canada. He developed his career across Syria and Egypt as an actor, playwright and director. His previous works include I Don’t Know, Suitcase and Adrenaline.
A Personal Look at a Complicated System
Theatre Passe Muraille Artistic Director Marjorie Chan sees humour and frustration working together within Meree’s latest production. She describes the work as both personal and relevant to people navigating complicated bureaucratic systems. The production also offers another perspective for audiences unfamiliar with immigration processes.
“In UNCIVILIZED, Ahmad turns his acute attention to both the absurdities and frustrations of the immigration process with theatrical humour and reflection.”
Chan calls the new work bold and personal while emphasizing its broader relevance. Meree uses his own story without limiting the play to one individual experience. Instead, the production examines the system asking people to justify where and how they belong.
When to See UNCIVILIZED in Toronto
Previews for UNCIVILIZED run October 13, 14 and 15, followed by opening night on October 16. The production continues through October 24, 2026, at Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace. The venue sits at 16 Ryerson Avenue in Toronto.
The production runs for 60 minutes without an intermission, with tickets priced at $20, $45 and $70. Content warnings include mentions of war, racism and swearing. Audiences can consider those details before choosing a performance.
Theatre Passe Muraille will also offer captioned performances in English and Arabic. Those performances take place October 18 at 2 p.m. and October 24 at 7:30 p.m. A mandatory masked performance will take place October 21 at 7:30 p.m.
A Timely Question About Who Gets to Belong
UNCIVILIZED does not simply recount the journey from refugee to Canadian citizen. Meree turns that journey into questions about language, identity, bureaucracy and social expectations. Humour gives him another way to examine experiences that can otherwise feel exhausting or alienating.
The production also asks audiences to reconsider the language societies use when defining belonging. Words like “civilized” can carry assumptions about culture, identity and who fits within accepted systems. Meree brings those assumptions into the theatre and invites audiences to examine them alongside him.
For Toronto audiences, the world premiere offers a deeply personal entry point into a much larger conversation. UNCIVILIZED runs at Theatre Passe Muraille from October 13 through October 24, 2026. Its central question remains deliberately unresolved: who gets to define what belonging should require?
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