Middle Eastern American Theatre: Communities, Cultures, and Artists By Michael Malek Najjar. Critical Companions. London and New York: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2021, pp. xvi + 237, 5 illustrations. $115 cloth, $39.95 paper, $35.95 e-book.

the political queer stances taken by British postpunk musicians and how these ignited a flame of resistance, passion, and drive in Southern California Latinx queer workingclass communities. Hands across the water, a kiss across an ocean, the lips that touch here in this book are ones devoted to enacting joyful resistance. Tender, wry, delicate, and rich, A Kiss across the Ocean is a love letter to the theatrically potent musical and visual gestures of the artists and bands of the British postpunk scene that made a difference in the mid-1980s and continue to do so today, even when people may have forgotten some of the bands’ names.