[5][6] In parallel to this work, Ada came up with an original text based on his personal experiences during the Soviet invasion of his home-country, his difficult journey to relocate and integrate into Western culture and the hurdles of being an Afghan in America following the September 11 attacks.

He would explain that: "After September 11th, my skin color and facial features suddenly attracted attention to myself and those around me – I was living in America with an Afghan face [...] All my endeavors as an artist soon took on a broader scope; this show not only brings my hopes of sharing the story of my family's journey to light, but also gives a tiny voice to the plight of those who have had to flee the countries they call home.

"[4] Back in Canada, Ada made a name for himself during three seasons of the Shaw Festival, along with parts in productions of The Grand, Canadian Stage and Cahoots Theatre.

In 2014, Ada wrote his second play, The Wanderers, which combines comedy, kinky sex, suicide, ghosts, hysteria, nudity and religious imagery, on the backdrop of an otherwise timeless tale of father-son conflict.

[7] Although the production of the play by Cahoots Theatre garnered mixed reviews, the depth and richness of the text would soon be rehabilitated and go on to be studied in universities.

[1] The same year, Ada released his first short film, Jihad Gigolo, which he wrote, produced and starred in: the story of a young man who makes ends meet by dressing up as a "terrorist call boy" to fulfill the weird fantasies of his clients, until his girlfriend and the Secret Service find out.

Theatre critic Amanda Campbell declared that "Kawa Ada, as the Madman, is a breathtaking tour de force, bursting with energy and words and playful shenanigans that cascade out of him with breakneck speed and formidable urgency.

He swaggers, skips, hops into someone’s lap, overacts to the hilt, mugs and wows the audiences with a smile that could melt a Newfoundland iceberg.

[13] The hard work that went into Ada's interpretation of Aspara was praised, eventually earning him the Toronto Theatre Critics Award for Best Male Actor of the Year.

In this satiric fusion of feminism and politics, four powerful women – Margaret Thatcher, Imelda Marcos, Benazir Bhutto and Kim Campbell – gather for Indira Gandhi's funeral, but are hijacked by a time-travelling terrorist.

[18] As of 2018, Ada is a playwright in residence at Tarragon Theatre, where he is working on his next play, Finding Islam, the story of a mother investigating the disappearance of her son, who is suspected to have joined ISIS.

[21] As of 2019, he was working at the Student Housing and Hospitality Services at the University of British Columbia, first as a Residence Life Manager,[22] before being promoted to Associate Director.

When talking about the production of David French's famously Newfoundland-rooted play Salt-Water Moon with actors that were not typical Newfoundlanders, Ada explained: "We wanted to challenge ourselves to see if the audience could come on this journey with us and imagine all of this, this deep complex, love between these two people [...] It's one of the things I speak to all over the country.