In this bonus episode of The Colour Cycle Season 3, Lena Nahlous chats to poet and theatre producer Zainab Syed about how she successfully engaged Muslim communities in Western Australia. Zainab talks about the industry-wide barriers that exclude marginalised audiences from theatres. With a focus on Performing Lines Western Australia's staging of Layla Majnun, a solo show devised by diverse and emerging artists from WA featuring US Farsi scholar and storyteller Ustaadh Feraidoon Mojadedi, Zainab reveals how she brought in both Muslim and non-Muslim audiences in huge numbers by considering everything from venue and staff training to strategic marketing.

This panel was a part of the 2020 Australian Performing Arts Exchange (APAX), and was facilitated and recorded by Catherine Conner and the team at PAC Australia. At the time of this interview, Zainab was creative producer at Performing Lines WA and is now producer at Belvoir Street Theatre in Sydney.