Aqeel Abdulla

Aqeel is a lecturer in Culture, Media and Creative Industries at King’s College, London, and the founder and director of Yalla Arts (CIC), a participatory community theatre based in Exeter.

He first came to the UK from Syria in 2009 on an international scholarship to pursue his MA in drama, and then came back for his PhD, which he completed in 2016 at the University of Exeter.

In his research in performance studies he has looked at Islamic feminisms in contemporary British theatre, and utilising participatory theatre to support the social engagement of refugees in the UK. He is currently working on a project that looks at how to document and archive the performative elements of micro cultures in Syria to support post-war reconciliation efforts.