NOTE: This production was the first show NHTP had to cancel due to the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020. We are honored to bring it back in 2022.

A Thousand Doorways by Diane Edgecomb

LIVESTREAM Performance

“There is one world, but a thousand doorways.” ~Kurdish Proverb

What if telling a story meant risking your life? Moved by the silencing of the Kurdish language by Turkish laws, Diane Edgecomb embarks on a journey of intrigue and heart to record the last Kurdish storytellers. In remote mountain villages, forbidden to outsiders, the stories of the Kurd’s lives and of their struggle mixed with startling ancient legends. Compassion opens new doorways to this hidden world: a mythic landscape of shepherds, guard towers, caravans, impossible mountain passes and the mysterious eggs from an ancient tree; a deeply moving, richly humorous story of the extraordinary people who shared their lives and their stories with her.

Based entirely on true events, A Thousand Doorways tells of Diane’s journey to gather the folktales of the last Kurdish storytellers. A storyteller herself, she is swept into a world of oppression and silenced voices where even the simplest cultural expression is forbidden. The resilience of the Kurds, their humor and heart in the face of every challenge, is revealed as Diane finds her search has become a deep quest for a touchstone for her own work and an even deeper search for redemption. The piece is woven through with the magical Kurdish fairy tale “The Eggs of the Ancient Tree.” mirroring and challenging the author’s own journey.