Middle Eastern Bloc Season 2. Episode 1:Skin City by Sivan Ben YishaiPerformer: Satu MikkelinenSound design and music: Saku Kämäräinen Concept: David Kozma and Bita RazaviIn Spring 2020, when the first wave of the global pandemic hit the world, we were wondering how people residing outside their country of birth experienced the situation. How people living away from their families coped with the difficulties. We asked ten writers to reflect on their experiences and published the stories in the form of a podcast. Now, towards the end of 2021, the situation has continued way longer than most of us could imagine. Different countries have dealt with the latter waves of pandemic with different strategies.The vaccination entered the scene but not all countries have access to it equally. Global economy and political relations came into play. All of these have created different experiences of the situation in different parts of the world. Some people deal with the disappointment of cancelled theatre performances and closed bars, some bury friends or family members on a regular basis. We decided to reflect on the situation again in another season of our podcast. We asked writers and playwrights from different corners of the world to reflect on their experiences and their surroundings with the hope to draw a wider image of the situation and put things into perspective.Sivan Ben Yishai is a playwright and theater director, based in Berlin since 2012. Her plays are widely performed, among others in Berlin, Munich, Dortmund, Lucerne, Barcelona, Vienna. In 2019/20 she was the artist in residence of Nationaltheater Mannheim. In 2020 she was a scholarship holder at the Tarabya Cultural Academy in Istanbul. With LOVE/ An argumentative exercise she was invited to the Mülheim Dramatist Prize 2020.