Who We Are 

Born in 2009 in Jackson Heights, Queens, Theatre 167 is a multicultural, multilingual ensemble dedicated to creating imaginative, deeply collaborative plays that investigate cultural complexities.  Named for the number of languages spoken in the world's most diverse neighborhood, Theatre 167 now brings work inspired by cultural collisions, intersections, boundaries and borders to audiences in three boroughs, four states and two continents. We experiment with form and process to create work that authentically reflects personal, social and cultural experience—and that invites dialogue and community-building across cultural divides. 

Past productions include The Jackson Heights Trilogy--167 Tongues, You Are Now The Owner of This Suitcase, and Jackson Heights 3AM—collectively written by 18 writers, featuring 37 actors playing 93 roles in 14 languages; Antu Yacob’s Mourning Sun, which premiered in New York and toured to the Kampala International Theatre Festival in Uganda ; J.Stephen Brantley’s Pirira, which transferred off-Broadway and received the 2014 New York Innovative Theatre Award for Outstanding Premiere Production of a Play; and the world premiere of Pulitzer-nominee Tina Howe's Singing Beach.

​Currently, the company is developing Watched, an adaptation of Marina Budhos' novel about the impact of profiling and surveillance on Muslim-American teens.

The New York Innovative Theatre Foundation honored Theatre 167 with the 2015 Caffe Cino Fellowship Award, given to an independent theatre company that consistently produces outstanding work., and Artistic Director Ari Laura Kreith received the 2016 LPTW Lucille Lortel Award in recognition of her work as a director and the body of work Theatre 167 has created under her leadership.

Affiliated Artists

Mission​
Born in a community where 167 different languages are spoken, Theatre 167 creates, cultivates, and supports new work by artists of wide-ranging backgrounds, traditions, and beliefs. Our process is deeply collaborative, and we are particularly interested in investigating intersections, boundaries and borders—both cultural and artistic—and exploring how the telling of our individual and collective stories inspires us to appreciate a multiplicity of voices. We bring our community together to share innovative, generous and entertaining theatrical events—events that deepen and enhance our understanding of one another and of the role of theater in our civic dialogue